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BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 


•The 


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BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING 
CLUBS 


BY 

WINIFRED   BUCK 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Ltd. 
1906 

All  rights  rese7~ved 


Copyright,  1903, 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  April,  1903. 
New  edition  September,  1906. 


NotfaooB  PtfSg 

J.  S.  Gushing  &  Co.  —  Derwick  &  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS 


PACK 

Introduction vii 

CHAPTER   I 
The  Place  of  the  Club  in  Relation  to  Play  in  General    .         i 

CHAPTER   II 
Causes  and  Consequences  of  Criminal  Acts  in  Children      22 

CHAPTER   III 

Preliminary  Arrangements  for  a  Club.     Meeting-place. 

Equipment 48 

CHAPTER   IV 

Starting  the  Club.      Getting  the  Boys.      First   Steps 

toward  Organization 65 

CHAPTER  V 
Development  of  a  Constitution 87 

CHAPTER   VI 
Analysis  of  the  Constitution 97 


t3-«  >  ,-1  «rj.«^<:> 


VI  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   VII 

PAGE 

Ethical  Lessons  of  the  Playground        .        .        .        .123 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Ethical  Lessons  of  the  Business  Meeting       .        .        .     139 

CHAPTER   IX 
Outside  Activities  of  the  Club 155 

CHAPTER  X 

Adaptations  Necessary  to  fit  the  Club  for  Boys  of  Dif- 
ferent Ages  and  Races 172 

CHAPTER  XI 
The  Personality  of  Club  Advisers 185 

CHAPTER  XII 
Simple  Parliamentary  Law 190 


INTRODUCTION 

The  original  and  most  famous  boys'  club  was 
organized  nearly  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  is 
known  to-day  as  the  St.  Mark's  Place  Boys'  Club. 
This  organization  now  owns  a  large  building,  which 
all  of  its  several  hundred  members  have  the  privi- 
lege of  using  as  often  as  they  please.  The  gov- 
ernment of  this  club  is  practically  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  grown  people. 

About  ten  years  later  an  attempt  was  made  in 
the  Tenth  Ward  of  New  York  City  to  change  the 
street  gangs  which  infested  the  neighborhood  into 
small  self-governing  clubs.  These  self-governing 
clubs  differed  from  the  St.  Mark's  Place  Club  in 
that  they  never  had  more,  and  rarely  as  many,  as 
thirty  members,  who,  instead  of  having  the  right 
to  enjoy  at  any  time  in  the  afternoon  or  evening 
the  many  privileges  of  a  large  building,  had  only 
the  right  to  occupy  one  room,  and  that  at  stated 
intervals. 

But  it  was  in  the  matter  of  government  that 
these  little  organizations  differed  most  from  their 
distinguished  prototype.     While  the  boys  of  the 


viil  INTRODUCTION 

St.  Mark's  Club  had  a  merely  nominal  voice  in 
the  government  of  their  club,  the  boys  of  the 
transformed  gangs  managed  all  their  business 
affairs  themselves,  in  some  cases  even  to  the  ex- 
tent of  paying  completely  for  the  rent  of  their 
room.  The  attendance  of  a  sensible  grown  person 
at  their  meetings  of  course  insured  their  success, 
but  he  or  she  acted  in  an  advisory  capacity"  only. 

These  small  self-governing  clubs  eventually  be- 
came a  veritable  force  in  the  neighborhood  where 
they  were  started,  and  they  now  fill  all  available 
rooms  in  the  settlements,  missions,  public  school 
buildings,  and,  unfortunately,  Raines  Law  hotels 
in  this  locality,  and  they  have  to  a  very  apprecia- 
ble extent  outdistanced  the  gangs  in  popularity. 

Now,  it  must  be  remembered  that  self-governing 
clubs  only  are  to  be  discussed  in  this  book.  My 
justification  for  assuming  this  task  is  the  fact  that 
I  have  had  twelve  years'  experience  in  managing 
clubs  organized  upon  the  principles  just  suggested 
and  to  be  more  fully  discussed  hereafter.  During 
two  years  of  this  period  I  have  been  "adviser"  in 
a  club  of  boys  from  eight  to  twelve  years  old ; 
during  eight  years  in  a  club  of  boys  from  twelve 
to  fourteen ;  and  during  four  years  in  a  club  of 
boys  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  years  old.  For  two 
years  and  a  half  of  this  period,  again,  I  organized 
and  retained  general  supervision  of  first  six,  and. 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

finally,  twelve,  clubs  of  boys"  of  all  ages  in  first 
one,  and  at  last  two,  public  schools  in  New  York. 
I  have  also,  during  the  two  winters  just  passed, 
assisted  in  the  organization  and  management  of 
the  clubs  recently  established  in  a  public  school 
on  Staten  Island.  Besides  this,  I  have  visited  and 
helped  to  organize  at  least  a  dozen  clubs  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  city. 

My  first  club  was  started  so  long  ago  that 
already  some  of  its  members  are  old  enough  and 
settled  enough  in  their  habits  to  be  said  to  have 
"turned  out."  While  I  do  not  assert  that  the 
club  is  more  than  one  of  the  many  good  influences 
and  causes  of  development  which  now  surround 
most  children  in  New  York,  I  do  believe  that  these 
young  club  graduates  are  more  reasonable,  broad- 
minded  and  wholesome  in  character  than  they 
would  have  been  had  they  missed  the  club  expe- 
rience; and  even  if  one  can  claim  no  more  for  it 
than  this,  I  think  the  club  amply  justifies  all  the 
trouble  and  expense  which  it  involves. 

I  have  had  no  practical  experience  in  applying 
self-governing  club  principles  to  the  organizations 
of  girls,  but  I  cannot  see  any  theoretical  reason 
why  both  sexes  should  not  profit  by  them  equally. 

WINIFRED   BUCK. 


BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING  CLUBS 


CHAPTER   I 

THE  PLACE  OF  THE  CLUB  IN  RELATION  TO  PLAY 
IN  GENERAL 

Everything  that  is  amusing  and  entertaining 
is  too  often  counted  as  play  by  people  who  have 
heard  of  play's  importance,  and  who  wish  to  give 
their  children  every  chance  for  development  and 
happiness.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  play  is  not  by 
any  means  always  amusing.  Children  often  en- 
gage in  it  with  desperate  seriousness  and  even  real 
anxiety.  An  active-minded  child  will  apparently 
court  responsibility  and  care  in  his  play  for  pre- 
cisely the  same  reasons  that  a  man  will  choose  a 
strenuous  Hfe  instead  of  a  self-indulgent  one ;  and 
the  child's  vigor,  like  the  man's,  will  only  increase 
with  the  strain  that  is  put  upon  it.  Play  is  the 
outward  manifestation  of  a  force  which  is  active 
within  the  child.  Instruction  and  entertainment 
are  outside  forces  which,  from  the  outside,  make 


2  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

certain  impressions  upon  the  inner  nature  of  the 
child.  Play  is  the  child's  attempt  to  experience 
real  living,  and  it  is  to  him  usually  quite  as 
serious  —  even  tragic  —  an  affair  as  real  life  is  to 
us.  Instruction,  of  course,  is  necessary  to  make 
play  successful  and  vigorous.  Entertainment  is 
of  a  nature  different  from  either  play  or  instruc- 
tion. After  the  fatigue  of  play  or  study  the  child 
may  well  become  the  passive  recipient  of  enter- 
tainment. 

Let  us  suppose  that  Education  may  be  divided 
into  two  halves,  thus :  Play,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
Instruction  on  the  other.  In  the  case  of  the  first 
half  (play)  the  child  experiences  and  discovers 
for  himself ;  in  the  second  half  (instruction)  he 
learns  the  result  of  other  people's  experiences  and 
discoveries.  Now,  these  two  great  departments 
of  education  frequently  intermingle.  Instruction, 
as  I  have  said,  inspires  and  makes  possible  more 
vigorous  play,  while  play  should,  and  frequently 
does,  create  the  desire  for  instruction.  Neverthe- 
less, play  and  instruction  call  upon  widely  different 
faculties. 

Now,  about  the  great  department  of  instruction 
I  am  not  qualified  to  write ;  and  even  if  I  were 
I  should  not  do  so  in  this  book.  About  the  de- 
partment of  play,  however,  I  wish  to  write  this 
short  chapter,  so  that  one  may  see  clearly  just  what 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE  CLUB  3 

relation  Boys'  Self-governing  Clubs  (Social  Play) 
bear  to  other  forms  of  play.  If,  as  I  hope  I  may, 
I  succeed,  later  in  making  these  self-governing 
clubs  appear  to  be  of  great  importance  to  the 
child's  mind  and  character,  one  can  gather  some 
idea  of  the  vastness  of  education  as  a  whole ;  for 
clubs  only  represent  part  of  one  of  the  four  classes 
into  which  play  is  divided,  and  play  itself  is  only 
half  of  education. 

All  the  four  classes  of  play  deserve  thorough 
treatment ;  they  can  only  be  briefly  touched  upon 
here. 

PLAY 

1.  Directed. 

(a)  Social  Play. 

Simple  relations. 
Complicated  relations. 

2.  "  In  Free  Activity." 

{a)  Creative  Play. 

Overcoming  the  forces  of  man, 
of  circumstances, 
of  nature. 

{p)  Imaginative  Play. 
Nature. 
Mystery. 
Romance. 

{c)  Animal  Play. 


4  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

A  table  like  this  would  naturally  give  the  im- 
pression that  each  class  of  play  is  sharply  defined 
and  completely  isolated  from  all  other  classes.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  however,  there  is  in  each  class 
or  group  of  play,  a  little  of  all  the  others,  but,  for 
convenience,  certain  forms  of  play  have  been 
classified  here  under  the  name  of  the  faculty  most 
largely  (but  not  exclusively)  developed  in  the  prog- 
ress of  that  play. 

In  the  first  class,  and  in  the  division  marked  {a), 
is  what  is  here  called  "Social  Play,"  —  perhaps 
the  most  fundamental,  certainly  the  most  impor- 
tant, of  all  play.  To  this  class  properly  belong 
all  games  ^  in  which  not  less  than  two  children 
engage,  but  the  rougher  ones,  such  as  hockey,  foot- 
ball, and  basket-ball,  are  of  far  greatest  importance. 

It  is  only  in  such  games  as  these  and  in  "  clubs  " 
(of  which  mention  is  made  later  in  this  chapter) 
that  a  child  finds  an  approximate  representation  of 
society.  The  elements  of  arbitrary  authority  and 
protection  are  so  prominent  in  the  school,  or  the 
home,  that  neither  of  these  places  fairly  represents 
the  outside  world.  But  rough  games  in  many 
respects   present   in   miniature   the   conditions  of 

1  "  For  at  this  period  games,  whenever  it  is  feasible,  are  common, 
and  thus  develop  the  feeling  and  desire  for  community  and  the 
laws  and  requirements  of  communaty."  —  Froebel,  "  Education  of 
Man,"  p.  114. 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE  CLUB  5 

a  society  where  an  ideal  state  of  justice,  freedom, 
and  equality  prevails.^  Here  a  child  is  free  to 
exert  all  his  individual  (if  rather  elementary)  vir- 
tues and  talents.  It  depends  only  upon  himself 
whether  he  makes  friends  or  enemies ;  whether  he 
fails  or  succeeds.  The  virtues  of  cool  temper, 
strength,  self-control,  and  skill  in  games  receive  a 
natural  and  logical  reward,  and  while  for  the 
breaking  of  laws  a  penalty  must  be  paid,  arbitrary 
punishment  (so  exasperating  to  a  child's  sense  of 
justice)  is  in  games  unknown.  The  laws,  too,  are 
made,  or  agreed  to,  by  every  one,  and  confer  equal 
restraint  and  equal  benefit  on  all. 

^  "  It  may  be  urged  that  such  degree  of  harshness  as  children 
now  experience  from  their  parents  and  teachers  is  but  a  prepara- 
tion for  that  greater  harshness  which  they  will  meet  with  on  enter- 
ing the  world;  and  that  were  it  possible  for  parents  and  teachers 
to  behave  toward  them  with  perfect  equity  and  entire  sympathy,  it 
would  but  intensify  the  sufferings  which  the  selfishness  of  men 
must,  in  after  life,  inflict  on  them. 

"  This  is  the  plea  put  in  by  some  for  the  rough  treatment  expe- 
rienced by  boys  in  our  [English]  public  schools;  where,  as  it  is 
said,  they  are  introduced  to  a  miniature  world  whose  imperfections 
and  hardships  prepare  them  for  the  real  world.  ,  .  ."  —  Herbert 
Spencer,  "Education,"  Chapter  III,  p.  178. 

Whatever  humanity  demands  of  the  world  it  will  get  eventu- 
ally. If  equity  and  sympathy  are  to  prevail  in  the  world  (and 
who  shall  say  that  it  would  not  be  well  to  have  them  prevail?), 
a  demand  for  these  conditions  must  be  created;  and  how  can  such 
a  demand  be  created  more  effectively  than  by  letting  many  indi- 
viduals experience  the  joys  of  equity  and  sympathy  in  a  miniature 
world  ? 


6  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

But,  while  all  individual  merits  receive  just 
reward  and  encouragement,  the  value  of  team 
play  as  against  individual  play  is  exemplified 
better  in  games  than  in  any  other  occupation 
of  a  child's  life.  This  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant social  lessons.  In  games,  too,  those  ad- 
vantages commonly  called  "  worldly "  count  for 
nothing.  Beauty,  wealth,  or  birth  help  a  man 
not  at  all  to  become  the  greatest  hero  in  what 
is,  for  the  time  being,  the  boys'  world.  The 
champion  foot-ball  player  personifies  and  glorifies 
all  that  is  bravest,  strongest,  and  most  honest 
—  the  very  qualities  which  should  seem  glorified 
to  a  child. 

But  the  value  of  games  is  so  generally  under- 
stood that  little  can  be  said  here  that  would  add 
to  the  appreciation  of  their  merits. 

There  is  yet  another  kind  of  social  play.  I 
refer  to  those  little  organizations  called  "  Self- 
governing  Clubs,"  the  details  of  whose  manage- 
ment will  be  discussed  in  the  following  chapters 
of  this  book. 

They  are  merely  the  natural  outgrowth  of  the 
gang,  but  the  gang  represented  a  society  where 
low  ideals  of  government  prevailed.  The  leader 
was  absolute  monarch,  swaying  his  voiceless  sub- 
jects as  he  willed  through  force  of  a  stronger 
character,  cunning,  perhaps,  or   by   the   material 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE  CLUB  7 

means  at  his  command.  A  club,  however,  is  a 
more  up-to-date  representation  of  society.  As  in 
the  foot-J)all  game,  ideal  conditions  of  equality 
here  prevail.  These  little  clubs,  although  often 
no  more  free  from  faults  and  mistakes  than  the 
old  gang  groups,  are,  nevertheless,  as  social 
organizations  just  as  different  from  gangs  as 
republics  are  from  the  monarchies  of  old. 

At  the  weekly  gathering  of  members  the  first 
hour  is  usually  occupied  with  games,  and  the  last 
hour  is  devoted  to  that  which  is  typical  of  these 
clubs  —  the  business  meeting.  Here  the  problems 
of  a  very  complicated  system  of  government  are 
discussed  by  the  children  —  the  problems  which 
grown  people  have  to  solve  for  the  nation  and 
society  —  the  problems  which  arise  from  the  elec- 
tion of  officers,  the  choosing  of  suitable  fellow- 
members,  the  relations  of  one's  own  organization 
to  others  of  the  same  kind,  the  disposal  of 
finances  and  the  punishment  of  lawbreakers. 
These  are  the  subjects  which  vex,  excite,  and 
interest  the  club  boy  every  week  at  his  business 
meeting.  And  he  settles  the  debated  questions 
to  the  best  of  his  ability ;  with  honest  intention 
usually,  because  the  majority  rules,  but  with 
wisdom  only  after  years  of  experience  in  success 
and  failure. 

This  kind  of  social  play — the  club — furnishes 


8  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

a  beautiful  example  of  how  play  can  be  made  to 
create  a  need  and  desire  for  instruction.^ 

One  of  the  commonest  traits  in  a  child's  charac- 
ter is  his  wilhngness  to  be  driven  by  a  necessity 
made,  or  imagined,  by  himself.  Let  a  teacher  or 
parent  impose  this  necessity  and,  in  a  vigorous 
child,  a  spirit  of  opposition  will  be  inspired  at 
once.  In  a  club,  then,  the  child  creates  for  him- 
self the  necessity  for  knowledge.  First,  he  finds 
that  if  he  is  to  gain  his  own  way  (and  his  own 
way  seems  of  desperate  importance  to  him)  he 
must  be  able  in  some  way  to  appeal  to  the  heads 
or  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-members.  One  way  to 
win  honor  and  power  in  a  club  is  through  the  skil- 
ful expression  of  ideas.  Whatever  a  boy's  ideas 
may  be,  the  only  way  to  express  them  is  in  lan- 
guage, spoken  or  written.  So  the  boy,  having 
himself  created  in  his  play  the  necessity  for  lan- 
guage, studies  it  in  school  with  a  zest  which  could 
never  be  imparted  by  the  knowledge  that  in  that 
far-off,  grown-up  future  it  would  be  of  equal  im- 
portance to  him. 

And  so  it  is  with  arithmetic  and  the  keeping  of 
books.      The   treasurer's   office  is  much   honored 


^  "There  is  in  this  a  source  of  many  of  the  errors  in  our  schools. 
We  teach  our  children  without  having  aroused  an  inner  want  for 
the  instruction.  .  .  .  How  can  such  instruction  be  profitable?"  — 
Froebel,  "  Education  of  Man,"  p.  223. 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE  CLUB  9 

and  coveted  by  club  boys.  So  the  child's  play 
again  creates  the  necessity  for  some  knowledge 
of  the  very  figures  which  seemed  so  useless  when 
learned  only  for  the  shadowy  years  to  come. 

The  study  of  the  history  of  nations  can  be 
vitalized  by  comparison  with  the  club's  history ; 
for  it  is  surprising  how  many  analogous  situa- 
tions there  are  between  the  child's  make-believe 
government  and  the  life  and  death  governments  of 
nations. 

It  is  here  that  we  see  how  the  club,  as  a  social 
organization,  is  more  complex  than  the  foot-ball 
game.  In  the  latter,  muscular  strength,  bravery, 
self-control,  and  honesty,  with  a  certain  mental 
agility,  are  all  that  are  necessary  to  make  a  suc- 
cessful player.  In  the  business  meeting  of  the 
club  all  these  quahties  are  required  (with  the  ex- 
ception of  muscular  strength)  and  with  the  very 
important  addition  of  intellectual  arts  of  various 
kinds. 

But,  important  as  is  this  social  play,  it  has  its 
limitations.  Law  is  the  very  essence  of  social 
play  as  it  is  of  grown-up  social  life.  Every  move 
of  the  friend  or  opponent  is  an  expression  of  law. 
In  almost  any  given  situation  rules  and  regulations 
prescribe  exactly  what  shall  be  done.  But  in  Hfe 
there  are  certain  forces  in  man,  in  circumstances, 
and  in  nature  which  cannot  be  met  or  overcome 


lO  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

by  law,  because  no  law  (as  yet  understood)  guides 
the  expression  of  these  forces.  It  is  then  that  the 
creative  faculty  in  man — the  "finding,"  like 
Sentimental  Tommy,   "a  w'y  " — must  be  used. 

A  vigorous  man  deUghts  in  an  appeal  to  his 
inventive  faculty,  and  to  a  child  it  is  no  less  a 
pleasure  to  measure  his  strength  against  opposing 
forces.  A  man,  of  course,  finds  this  pleasure  and 
exercise  in  real  Hf  e  ;  and  whether  it  be  in  the  man- 
aging well  of  a  small  income,  the  forcing  of  an 
illusive  thought  to  clear  expression,  or  the  invent- 
ing of  a  flying-machine  the  same  faculty,  in  a 
higher  or  lower  degree,  is  exercised.  But  for  the 
child  this  form  of  inner  activity  is  expressed  in 
play,  and  in  what  has  been  classified  here  as 
Creative  Play. 

The  first  and  crudest  expression  of  this  form  of 
a  child's  inner  activity  is  the  appointment,  so  to 
speak,  of  an  enemy.  This  is  probably  the  common- 
est form  of  creative  play,  partly  because  it  is  the 
most  elementary,  but  chiefly  because  it  is  for  the 
majority  of  children  —  for  the  majority  are  poor 
—  the  only  one  possible. 

This  play  is  particularly  interesting  to  one  who 
believes  that  the  evolution  of  the  individual  cor- 
responds in  some  measure  with  the  evolution  of 
the  race.  It  will  be  remembered  that  our  ances- 
tors  were   wont    to   work    off    their   superfluous 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE  CLUB  ii 

energy  (incidentally  developing  their  minds)  by 
planning  raids  and  battles  against  a  real  or  "  ap- 
pointed "-  foe. 

If  a  child,  then,  has  within  him  a  germ  of  the 
creative  faculty,  and  has  no  more  interesting  way 
in  which  to  exercise  it,  he  will  not  be  satisfied  until 
he  is  exerting  all  his  forces  to  get  the  better  of  an 
enemy.  In  towns  and  cities  some  unconscious 
policeman  usually  fills  this  important  office,  while 
in  the  country  an  obliging  farmer  is  always  ready 
enough  to  act  the  part  with  every  appearance  of 
sincerity. 

The  "  getting  the  better  of  "  an  enemy  is  cer- 
tainly conducive  to  the  development  of  a  certain 
degree  of  ingenuity,  but  there  is  always  danger 
that,  unless  this  form  of  play  is  balanced  by  well- 
directed  social  play,  it  will  degenerate  into  some- 
thing positively  immoral.  As  long  as  the  enemy 
remains  an  impersonal  force  whose  unexpected 
turns  and  actions  require  the  exercise  of  all  a 
child's  resources  and  his  quickest  thought,  it  is 
well  enough.  But  the  chances  are  that  the  child's 
attitude  toward  the  enemy  will  change  to  one 
where  hatred  of  a  very  personal  order  predomi- 
nates all  other  feelings.  In  that  case  the  child 
loses  all  sense  of  justice  and  honesty,  and  the  un- 
fortunate enemy  becomes  the  victim  of  outrages 
by  no  means   inspired   by  ingenuity  alone.     The 


12  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

effect  of  hatred,  too,  upon  a  child's  heart  is  alto- 
gether blighting.  On  the  whole,  therefore,  this 
form  of  play  is  not  commendable,  but  it  is,  never- 
theless, only  the  crude  expression  of  a  very  desir- 
able mental  quality. 

There  is  another  form  of  play  in  which  the  crea- 
tive instincts  manifest  themselves.  By  an  illustra- 
tion most  people  will  recognize  it  at  once,  for  it  is 
common  to  almost  all  children  whose  families  have 
the  sense  not  to  give  them  too  many  or  too  perfect 
toys  ;  boys  and  girls  alike  indulge  in  it. 

A  child  (who  was  a  child  long  ago)  had  for 
years  as  her  only  playthings  a  big  box  of  blocks 
and  the  pins,  mucilage,  and  odds  and  ends  of  the 
household.  One  winter  she  made  a  large  royal 
family  of  paper  dolls,  and  constructed  for  their 
dwelling  on  the  attic  floor  a  palace  of  these  wooden 
blocks.  Completion  would  have  ended  the  play ; 
but,  fortunately,  the  royal  family  increased  in 
numbers  in  the  most  lifelike  manner,  and  this 
necessitated  the  constant  engagement  of  new  at- 
tendants and  the  frequent  addition  of  new  wings 
to  the  palace. 

Finally,  on  one  never-to-be-forgotten  occasion, 
another  royal  family  from  across  the  way  came 
without  warning  to  spend  a  week.  Many  were  the 
ingenious  shifts  which  had  to  be  made  to  house 
the  distinguished  visitors  in  a  manner   suited  to 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE  CLUB  13 

their  exalted  stations ;  for  the  blocks  had  already 
long  since  become  part  of  the  palace,  and  the  end 
had  nearly  been  reached  of  the  odds  and  ends  of 
the  household. 

Twenty  years  have  passed  since  that  event ;  but 
the  maker  of  the  royal  dolls  and  the  block  palace 
says  that  to-day,  when  she  cannot  think  some 
thought  out  to  its  end,  or  cannot  see  how  the 
money  in  hand  will  cover  the  week's  expenses,  her 
thoughts  fly  back  to  her  struggles  to  equip  a  royal 
family  out  of  nothing.  And  a  picture  flashes  into 
her  mind  of  a  little  girl  on  a  bare  attic  floor  say- 
ing despairingly  to  herself,  "  Only  five  pins,  ten 
matches,  and  a  visiting-card  left,  and  the  princess's 
lady-in-waiting  without  a  place  in  which  to  spend 
the  night." 

There  were  some  hard  thinking  and  great 
anxiety  that  day,  but  the  lady-in-waiting  found 
comfortable  shelter  in  the  end,  we  are  told.  And 
twenty  years  later  the  habit  of  concentration  thus 
formed  in  childhood,  and  the  fertility  of  resource 
stimulated  by  such  self-imposed  necessities  as 
housing  royal  paper  dolls,  found  a  way  to  push 
the  vague  thought  to  clear  expression,  and  to 
make  the  limited  income  cover  the  expenses  of 
the  week. 

Here,  as  in  the  boy's  club,  the  child's  imagina- 
tion creates  the  necessity  for  the  exercise  of  his 


14  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

faculties.  As  in  the  club,  again,  instruction  facili- 
tates the  expression  of  these  faculties.  In  direct 
connection  with  creative  play  should  come  first 
manual  instruction, — carpentry,  sewing,  clay- 
modelling,  etc.  If,  with  advancing  years,  the 
child's  creative  faculties  develop  beyond  the  man- 
ual standpoint,  instruction  should  be  given  accord- 
ing to  the  form  in  which  the  youth  wishes  to 
express  his  ideas ;  if  in  art,  the  technique  of 
writing,  music  or  painting ;  if  invention,  mechanics, 
chemistry,  electricity  and  mathematics ;  if  adminis- 
tration, such  legal  and  business  principles  as  this 
peculiar  bent  may  demand. 

People  of  wealth  in  giving  their  children  com- 
plete and  perfect  toys  unconsciously  do  them  a 
great  wrong.  A  child  delights  in  working  toward 
completion,  but  when  completion  is  once  accom- 
plished his  interest  ceases  or  is  expressed  in 
destruction.  To  excite  a  child's  ambition  to 
make  perfect,  insufficiency  is  absolutely  essential. 
A  child  finds  no  stimulus  whatever  to  creative- 
ness  when  he  knows  that  everything  lacking  will 
be  given  him,  ready-made,  for  the  asking.  In 
this,  as  in  almost  all  play,  it  is  the  children  of 
the  extremes  of  wealth  or  poverty  who  suffer 
most.  While  for  the  rich  child  the  play  is 
spoiled  because  he  has  too  many  materials  at 
his  command,  for  the  poor  one  it  is  impossible, 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE  CLUB  15 

as  he  has  no  materials  at  all ;  for  there  is  a 
limit  even  to  a  child's  power  of  "  make  believe." 

But  there  is  another  play  in  the  class  of  creative 
play  which  is  available  for  the  rich  only.  It  is  to 
sports  that  I  refer.  Sports  demand,  as  nothing 
else  will,  the  finding  of  a  way.  Take  a  boy  who 
knows  nothing  of  swimming,  throw  him  into  deep 
water  out  of  reach  of  assistance,  and  he  will  learn 
better  in  five  minutes  how  to  keep  his  head  out  of 
water  than  he  could  in  a  day  at  a  swimming-school. 
In  this  case  the  boy,  to  ail  intents  and  purposes, 
invents,  under  the  spur  of  necessity,  the  art  of 
swimming.  In  the  school  he  learns  how,  me- 
chanically, to  use  the  invention  of  another.  The 
mental  processes  in  both  cases  are  entirely  differ- 
ent. And  in  all  sports  it  is  the  same.  The  ele- 
ment of  unexpectedness,  unusualness,  and  the 
necessity  created  by  the  presence  of  actual  dan- 
ger, or,  possibly,  humihating  failure,  stimulate 
most  effectively  the  creative  faculty. 

But  one  of  the  greatest  advantages  in  sports  is, 
that  they  bring  a  child  in  direct  touch  with  nature, 
and  it  is  nature  that  best  develops  the  imagination 
as  well  as  the  inventive  faculties. 

The  element  of  imagination  enters  very  largely, 
of  course,  into  all  the  plays  of  children.  In  crea- 
tive play  imagination  and  invention  run  together, 
each  aiding  and  encouraging  the  other.     But  there 


1 6  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

is  one  play  in  which  no  faculty  but  the  imagina- 
tion is  exercised.  We  all  remember  it  vaguely 
in  connection  with  some  of  the  happiest  hours  of 
our  childhood,  —  Imaginative  Play. 

The  chief  difference  between  creative  play  and 
pure  imaginative  play  lies  in  the  fact  that  in  the 
former  the  forces  of  man,  of  circumstances  and  of 
nature  are  understood  and  mastered,  and  some- 
thing is  definitely  accomplished,  while  in  the  latter 
these  forces  are,  in  glorified  form,  simply  felt. 
What  this  feehng  is,  cannot  be  described  here,  for 
only  a  poet  could  put  it  into  words.  But  while 
the  man  who  can  give  expression  to  his  imagina- 
tion is  rare,  nearly  all  of  us  have  the  power  to 
feel  what  he  feels.  For  some  of  us  this  power 
soon  departs,  but  for  others  the  very  look  on  a 
child's  face  will,  even  in  middle  age,  bring  back 
something  of  the  glamour  which  young  imagina- 
tion once  cast  over  life. 

Look  about  you  any  day  in  the  poorer  parts  of 
the  city,  or  in  the  country,  where  there  is  no 
restraining  conventionality  to  stifle  the  imagina- 
tion, and  there  you  will  see  many  children  at  this 
play.  Two  boys  come  down  the  street,  a  look  of 
expectancy  and  importance  on  their  faces.  They 
do  not  collide  with  you  as  they  pass,  but,  never- 
theless, they  are  unconscious  of  your  presence. 
They  are  unconscious  of  each  other's  bodily  pres- 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE  CLUB  17 

ence.  Their  spirits  are  together  in  that  glorious 
world  of  mystery,  excitement  and  beauty  that  we 
all  once  knew  so  well.  When  a  child  hears  a  call 
from  that  other  world  no  power  should  keep  him 
from  it ;  but  without  us  he  must  go.  No  person 
grown,  however  sympathetic  or  beloved,  can  fol- 
low him  into  his  world  of  dreams  and  fancies.  He 
will  know  and  will  choose  his  right  companion, 
and  it  will  be  another  child. 

But  although  once  grown  we  cannot  follow  a 
child  into  his  imaginative  world,  and  though  the 
glory  of  things  fades  from  year  to  year,  it  is  on 
the  imaginations  that  we  have  developed  in  our 
youth  that  we  depend  for  all  that  makes  life  worth 
living.  Over  the  dullest,  most  monotonous  lives, 
over  the  ugliest,  wickedest  cities,  imagination  will 
cast  the  glamour  of  romance.  Sea  and  mountain 
and  the  scenes  of  history  will  live  if  our  imagina- 
tions bid  them. 

To  almost  every  child  is  given  the  germ  of  an 
imagination.  This  germ  can  be  developed  in 
youth ;  but  if  it  is  neglected  then,  the  stern  reali- 
ties of  later  life  soon  crush  out  its  feeble  existence. 
The  first  requisite  for  its  development  is,  of  course, 
freedom  and  opportunity.  I  do  not  know  whom 
to  pity  more,  the  child  of  "  up-town,"  guarded 
against  all  the  delicious  experiences  and  adven- 
tures of  freedom,  or  the  child  of  the  slums,  free, 


1 8  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

it  is  true,  but  shut  out  from  that  paradise  of  the 
child's  imaginative  life,  —  the  country. 

Once  given  freedom  and  opportunity  a  child's 
imagination  can  be  infinitely  developed  by  instruc- 
tion of  the  right  kind.  History,  from  the  romantic 
rather  than  the  economic  point  of  view,  poetry, 
stories  of  adventure,  real  and  fancied,  the  lives  of 
men  and  animals,  and  everything  which  will  develop 
the  perception  of  beauty,  —  all  these  things  are 
rapidly  absorbed  by  an  active  imagination  which 
they  in  turn  will  help  to  feed  and  develop. 

There  comes  a  time  after  a  long  period  of  play 
or  study  when  the  brain  has  exhausted  for  the 
time  being  its  vitality,  the  body  which  has  been 
comparatively  inactive,  on  the  other  hand,  having 
accumulated  a  tremendous  amount  of  energy. 
This  energy  will  be  expressed  in  the  familiar  and 
much-dreaded  process  known  as  "  letting  off 
steam,"  and  which  is  classified  here  as  Animal 
Play.  The  chief  function  of  this  play  is  apparently 
to  give  the  brain  a  needed  opportunity  for  rest, 
while  the  body  works  off  its  superfluous  energy, 
the  result  being  a  gradual  return  of  a  normal  bal- 
ance between  mental  and  bodily  activity. 

There  is  probably  no  play  so  trying  to  the 
grown  person  as  animal  play,  and  the  evident 
brainlessness  of  it  makes  it  seem  wrong  to  endure, 
much  less  to  encourage,  it. 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE  CLUB  19 

Picture  to  yourself  a  very  large,  empty  room, 
having  facilities  for  every  sort  of  game,  and  a 
small  but  complete  gymnasium  opening  out  of  it. 
Then  imagine  your  surprise  when  the  boys,  for 
whose  use  the  room  and  the  gymnasium  were  in- 
tended, refuse  on  entering  to  become  part  of  any 
organized  game  or  play.  This  surprise  rapidly 
turns  into  despair  when  their  real  preferences  be- 
come evident.  Dignified  schoolboys,  their  books 
thrown  aside,  become  for  the  moment  irresponsi- 
ble animals,  shrieking  and  howling,  throwing 
themselves  against  the  walls,  lying  on  their  backs, 
their  legs  waving  in  the  air,  and  dropping  in  dizzy, 
giggling  heaps  all  over  the  floor.  A  scene  Hke 
this  makes  one  feel  that  time  and  money  are  being 
wasted  in  providing  such  opportunities  for  them. 

And  yet,  after  half  an  hour  of  this  sort  of  play, 
there  will  be  a  gradual  straightening  up  of  the  roll- 
ing, squirming  figures,  a  choosing  of  sides  for  a 
foot-ball  game,  and  a  gentle  scramble  for  remote 
corners  by  the  bloodless  armed  with  checker-boards. 
The  proper  balance  between  brain  and  bodily 
activity  has  been  brought  about  in  the  half  hour  of 
apparently  wasted  time,  and  the  animals  are  once 
more  intelligent  human  beings. 

There  is  one  result  which  is  produced  by  ani- 
mal play,  the  effects  of  which  upon  the  charac- 
ter are  immeasurable.     It  is  to  happiness  that  I 


20  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

refer.  In  an  earlier  paragraph  the  statement  is 
made  that  many  kinds  of  play  are  indulged  in 
seriously  and  even  with  real  anxiety.  It  would 
appear  that  such  play,  therefore,  could  not  be  at- 
tractive to  a  child.  The  fact  is,  however,  that 
nature  so  impels  him  to  be  active  in  this  way 
that  restraint  would  make  him  wretched.  But 
because  he  may  be  unhappy  without  such  play  it 
does  not  necessarily  follow  that  with  it  he  is  happy. 
Intense  interest  comes  to  man  or  child  with  any- 
thing that  absorbs  the  attention,  but  even  intense 
interest  cannot  be  mistaken  for  happiness.  Hap- 
piness for  children  (and  for  grown  people  also)  is 
largely  a  matter  of  animal  spirits,  and  it  is  with 
the  aimless,  brainless,  foolish  noise  and  antics  of 
animal  play  that  animal  spirits  rise.  Let  the 
reader  search  his  own  memory  and  see  if  this  be 
true  for  him.  Personally,  I  confess  that  it  is  on 
the  scenes  of  wildest  folly  that  I  now  look  back 
with  fondest  remembrance.  Does  one  ever  forget, 
I  wonder,  the  awful  delight  of  "  getting  the  gig- 
gles," and  the  wild,  irresponsible  joy  of  making  all 
the  noise  one  wanted  }  Cannot  every  one  remember 
how  his  spirits  rose  and  soared  with  the  increasing 
din  .-*  Only  yesterday  a  small  friend  of  mine  re- 
turned to  his  home  from  a  progressive  euchre 
party,  his  eyes  sparkling,  his  cheeks  aglow. 
"  Was   the  party  a  success  .-* "    his   mother  asked 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE   CLUB  21 

him.  "  A  success  !  "  the  boy  exclaimed  in  rapture, 
"well,  I  should  say  it  was.  There  was  such  a 
racket  th-at  you  could  not  hear  the  bell  when  they 
rang  it  to  change  tables."  The  boy  had  won  no 
prizes ;  the  euchre  game  was  forgotten.  But  to 
look  at  his  beaming  face  was  to  know  that  his 
spirits  had  risen  with  the  noise  until  his  evening 
had  been  one  of  ecstasy. 

If  one  believes  that  the  possession  of  animal 
spirits  constitutes  happiness,  and  that  happiness  is 
necessary  for  a  child's  healthy  growth,  then  char- 
acter and  mind-building  play  —  no  matter  how 
much  it  may  absorb  his  interest — will  not  be 
enough.  Animal  play,  disagreeable  as  it  is  to 
grown-up  people,  must  be  given  recognition  and 
endured  for  the  results  it  promises. 

All  kinds  of  play  demand  patience  and  intelli- 
gence from  the  parent  and  teacher.  But  in  no 
way  can  one  obtain  such  insight  into  a  child's  real 
character  and  needs  as  through  the  effort  to  under- 
stand its  play. 


CHAPTER   II 

CAUSES    AND    CONSEQUENCES    OF    CRIMINAL    ACTS 
IN    CHILDREN  ^ 

The  word  "  gang  "  connotes  to  most  people  an 
organization  of  young  criminals.  It  is  true  that 
the  members  of  gangs  do  perpetrate  many  evil 
deeds,  but  the  performance  by  children  of  criminal 
acts  does  not  necessarily  indicate  the  possession  of 
criminal  characters.  Indeed,  the  effect  of  indulg- 
ing in  such  acts  is  frequently  beneficial  to  the 
child,  for  activity  at  that  age  would  appear  to  be 
the  only  sine  qua  non  of  development  of  character, 
brain  and  muscle.  That  active  impulses  must  so 
often  be  forced  or  guided  from  wrong  channels 
into  right  ones  does  not  alter  the  fact  that  even 
perverted  energy  is  a  better  quality  than  stagna- 
tion, and  the  enterprising  young  thief,  therefore, 
often  constitutes  more  promising  material  for  a 
good  citizen  than  the  boy  who  contentedly  sits  at 

^  "  Children  "  when  referred  to  in  this  chapter,  or  indeed  through- 
out the  book,  are  young  people  under  sixteen  years  of  age  unless 
otherwise  specified. 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  IN   CHILDREN  23 

home  all  day,  not  from  principle,  but  simply  from 
inertia.  It  must  be  remembered  that,  through  the 
performanoe  by  our  early  ancestors  of  acts  now 
considered  criminal,  we  largely  owe  our  survival 
as  a  race,  and  that,  through  the  performance  of 
these  acts,  valuable  mental  and  physical  character- 
istics were  developed.  Manslaughter,  revenge, 
rape  and  theft  under  certain  circumstances  were 
once  not  considered  crimes ;  and,  indeed,  the  race 
which  had  been  least  proficient  in,  or  had  had 
moral  scruples  against,  these  practices,  would  have 
become  extinct. 

But  it  must  not  be  understood  that  all  "bad 
boys,"  so  called,  are  capable  of  becoming  wise  and 
virtuous  citizens.  There  are  children  whose  men- 
tal and  physical  instincts  are  so  perverted  that 
criminal  habits  (which  with  ordinary  children 
readily  yield  to  the  greater  interest  of  legitimate 
activity)  become  almost  ineradicable  in  their 
natures.  Such  children  are  often  degenerate,  cer- 
tainly always  abnormal.  Degenerate  or  abnormal 
children  are  usually  the  result  either  of  bad  hered- 
ity, bad  physical  conditions,  immoral  environment 
or   all  of   these  conditions  of  life.^     Normal  chil- 

^  A  doctor  in  a  criminal  insane  asylum  once  told  me  that  roughly 
speaking  fifty  per  cent  of  the  inmates  owed  their  condition  to  insuffi- 
cient nourishment  before  or  after  birth. 

"  It  is  estimated  by  criminologists  that  from  fifty  to  seventy-five 
per  cent  of  the  detached  cases  of  criminality  are  the  result  of  pre- 


24  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

dren,  on  the  other  hand,  may  commit  the  same 
crimes  in  spite  of  sound  characters  and  the  most 
favorable  surroundings. 

The  characteristics  which  are  accountable  for 
the  crimes  of  abnormal  children  are  these :  — 

1.  Exaggerated  physical  instincts. 

2.  Exaggerated  emotional  instincts. 

3.  Atrophied  power  of  perception. 

4.  Atrophied  power  of  sympathy. 

5.  Perverted  reasoning  power. 

6.  Deficient  will  power. 

The  characteristics  which  lead  normal  children 
to  serious  delinquencies  are  these :  — 

1.  Good  characteristics  (energy  or  ingenuity 
usually)  seeking  exercise  or  outlet. 

2.  Undeveloped  perception. 

3.  Undeveloped  sympathy. 

4.  Innate  though  temporary  perversity. 

5.  Undeveloped  will  power. 

Now,  while  the  characteristics  which  cause  the 
criminal  performances  of   abnormal  children  are 

natal  causes,  the  remainder  being  caused  by  insalubrious  or  delete- 
rious youthful  environment,  or  by  defective  education."  —  William 
H.  Boies,  "  Science  of  Penology,"  p.  39. 

The  children  of  criminal  parents,  brought  up  amid  vicious  sur- 
roundings, are  not  always  abnormally  criminal  themselves;  nor,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  the  children  of  apparently  virtuous  parents,  who 
live  rationally,  always  normal. 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  IN  CHILDREN  2$ 

quite  different  from  those  which  inspire  the  mis- 
demeanors of  normal  children,  the  crimes  and 
misdemeantDrs  themselves  may  be  exactly  alike. 
For  instance,  both  normal  and  abnormal  children 
indulge  in  stealing  and  vandalism,  fighting,  cruelty 
(physical  and  spiritual),  gambling,  giving  and  tak- 
ing bribes,  and  lying.  Murder,  however,  is  never 
committed  by  normal  children,  and  normal  chil- 
dren do  not  indulge  in  excessive  smoking,  drinking 
or  other  distinctly  physical  crimes.^ 

It  is  plain  that  the  abnormal  child  will  need 
radical  treatment,  physiological  and  psychological. 
His  physical  mode  of  living  should  be  completely 
revolutionized,  and  his  mental  powers  and  affec- 
tions systematically  trained  and  developed.  I  do 
not  believe  in  admitting  abnormal  children  to  a 
club.  Their  influence  upon  the  other  boys  is  likely 
to  be  bad,  while  they  themselves  will  gain  nothing 
from  such  temporary  association  with  more  virtu- 
ous companions.  Bi-weekly  club  meetings  cannot 
bring  about  very  radical  changes  either  in  body  or 

^  A  recent  investigation  of  the  condition  of  child  labor  has 
brought  to  light  the  fact  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  5000  news- 
boys of  New  York  are  regular  patrons  of  unspeakable  resorts. 
Statistics  are  not  at  hand  to  prove  whether  these  boys  are  congeni- 
tally  abnormal  in  their  tastes,  or  whether  they  have  become  so 
through  the  unnatural  lives  they  lead.  See  pamphlet  entitled 
"Child  Labor:  The  Street,"  by  Ernest  Poole,  184  Eldridge  St., 
New  York. 


26  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING  CLUBS 

character.  Indeed,  "  changes  "  are  not  what  the 
club  should  seek  to  effect;  for  the  normal  child, 
whether  he  has  acquired  criminal  habits  or  not, 
does  not  need  alteration  of  his  characteristics,  but 
merely  their  development  and  guidance. 

Some  experiences  I  have  had  with  the  misde- 
meanors of  normal  and  abnormal  children,  both  in 
and  out  of  clubs,  will  show  how  one  crime  may  be 
instigated  either  by  good  or  by  bad  characteristics. 

Of  the  class  of  abnormal  children  which  com- 
prises murderers  or  excessive  smokers  or  drinkers, 
I  have  seen  little.  No  juvenile  murderer,  poten- 
tial or  actual,  ever  applied  for  admission  to  my 
clubs.  One  or  two  "  cigarette  fiends  "  tried  to  enter, 
but  boys  of  this  class  were  discouraged  from  aspir- 
ing to  membership  by  reason  of  the  rigid  laws 
which  the  clubs  enacted  against  smoking.  (See 
page  89.)  I  remember  only  one  instance  in  which 
a  real  "  fiend  "  was  long  a  member  of  the  club. 
How  he  got  in  I  do  not  know,  for  his  habits  were 
plainly  indicated  by  his  pasty  face  and  his  stunted 
figure.  The  fact  became  well  known  at  last, 
however,  and  he  was  requested  to  leave.  This 
he  refused  to  do.  The  club  insisted,  and  the 
poor  wretch  cried,  philosophically  but  pathetically, 
"  Keep  me,  and  let  me  be  a  warning  to  the  other 
boys."  In  the  hope  that  he  would  serve  this  use- 
ful purpose  or  for  some  other  reason  he  was  never 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  IN  CHILDREN  27 

expelled ;  but,  while  his  influence  upon  the  other 
boys  did  not  seem  to  be  bad,  he  himself  gained 
nothing  from  the  club.  He  was  a  "  cigarette 
fiend"  when  he  entered  and  a  "cigarette  fiend" 
when  he  left,  three  years  later. 

While  a  "cigarette  fiend"  acquires  his  vicious 
habits  through  some  morbid  physical  craving, 
healthy,  normal  boys  indulge  in  smoking  because 
it  is  an  amusement  —  the  only  one  available,  too 
often.  Fully  half  of  all  the  boys  I  have  known 
smoked  occasionally  before  they  joined  clubs,  but 
they  readily  forswore  the  practice  when  they  real- 
ized that  it  was  injurious  to  their  health,  and  when 
a  greater  diversion  was  offered  by  the  activities  of 
the  club. 

A  great  many  normal  children  smoke,  not  for 
the  love  of  it,  but  because  they  think  it  so  delight- 
fully wicked.  The  club  adviser,  by  the  way, 
should  avoid  all  appearance  of  being  shocked  or 
horrified  at  anything  his  boys  may  do.  An  ex- 
pression of  contemptuous  or  even  kindly  amuse- 
ment will  do  more  to  put  bad  or  foolish  acts  in  an 
unattractive  Hght  than  could  any  words  of  indig- 
nation. All  boys  at  a  certain  age  think  it  a  fine 
thing  to  be  taken  for  devils,  but  none  of  them 
care  to  be  considered  pathetic  little  fools. 

With  drinking,  as  with  smoking,  only  those  boys 
who  have  an  abnormal    physical  craving   appear 


28  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

to  desire  to  do  it  to  excess.  It  is  better  that 
growing  boys  should  not  touch  a  drop  of  alcohol, 
of  course,  but  I  cannot  say  that  for  a  boy  in 
normal  physical  condition,  and  leading  a  normal 
life  of  varied  interests  and  activities,  there  appears 
to  be  any  great  danger  for  him,  as  a  boy,  in  a 
moderate  use  of  it.  A  great  many  perfectly 
normal  boys  of  the  poorer  classes,  however,  do 
not  lead  normal  lives,  and  even  if  they  do,  there 
is  always  the  danger  that  they  may  acquire  a 
latent  taste  for  liquor  that  will  develop  under 
the  stress  of  mature  life.  However,  few  children, 
as  such,  are  drunkards.  Only  one,  in  fact,  ever 
tried  to  become  a  member  of  my  club,  and 
the  reports  of  juvenile  reformatory  institutions 
record  few  inmates  who  have  been  committed  on 
this  charge. 

Stealing  is  the  commonest  of  the  more  serious 
crimes  practised  by  children,  normal  and  abnormal, 
rich  and  poor  alike. 

There  are  four  classes  of  child  thieves.  In  the 
first  is  the  child  who  takes  something,  —  money, 
clothing,  or  jewellery  usually,  —  which  he  knows  he 
has  no  right  to,  for  the  sake  of  possessing  and 
enjoying  it  himself  at  the  expense  of  the  legiti- 
mate owner.  In  this  class  we  should  not  include 
the  raiders  of  orchards  or  pantries,  because  they 
are  often   impelled   to  this    form  of   larceny  by 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  lAT  CHILDREN  29 

genuine  hunger  or  by  a  spirit  of  adventure.  The 
abnormal  child  thief  will  avoid  adventure  or 
danger  to  himself  always,  and,  if  caught,  will  lie 
or  even  cast  the  blame  on  some  one  else  for  the 
sake  of  escaping  a  penalty  for  his  misdeeds. 

Stealing  in  this  cold-blooded  way  indicates  a 
perverted  mental  attitude  which  is  quite  abnormal. 
The  most  efficacious  method  of  teaching  such  a 
child  to  respect  the  sacred  rights  of  ownership  is 
to  let  him  be  an  owner  himself,  and  in  no  way 
can  he  be  made  to  feel  more  conscious  of  the 
security  which  should  attach  to  ownership  than 
by  earning  or  making  his  own  property.  Any 
child  who  is  old  enough  to  steal  when  he  knows 
better  (some  of  them  do  it  when  they  are  only 
three  or  four  years  old,  and  show  their  conscious- 
ness of  guilt  by  the  slyness  of  their  operations) 
will  be  old  enough  to  make  things.  These  his 
parents  should  buy  for  small  sums  of  money  which 
he  should  be  taught  to  spend  judiciously.  If  he  is 
old  enough,  it  may  be  better  to  engage  him  for 
a  tiny  salary  to  perform  some  useful  duty  about 
the  house,  —  such  as  sweeping  a  room,  blacking 
boots  or  shovelling  snow.  At  the  same  time  his 
sympathies  should  be  aroused  for  the  victims  of 
his  thefts. 

Now,  as  will  be  seen,  reform  in  such  cases 
must  be  effected  through  a  more  or  less  radical 


30  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

change  in  the  child's  manner  of  living  in  his  home, 
and  his  parents  will  be  the  natural  persons  to 
bring  about  this  change.  If  the  parents  have 
neither  sufficient  time  nor  intelligence  for  the 
task,  and  the  child's  predatory  habits  are  per- 
sistent, he  should  be  sent  to  a  reformatory  insti- 
tution, like  the  George  Junior  Republic,  where  he 
will  stand  the  best  chance  of  being  cured  of  his 
moral  disease.  The  club,  as  will  be  seen  later, 
is  not  adapted  to  deal  successfully  with  cases  of 
this  kind. 

In  the  second  class  of  juvenile  thieves  belong 
kleptomaniacs.  That  strange  desire  to  take  objects 
of  which  no  after  use  is  made,  and  not  for  the 
sake  of  the  adventure  to  which  the  theft  is  inci- 
dental, belongs  in  the  domain  of  insanity ;  and  in- 
sanity is  far  removed  from  mere  abnormality  in 
the  sense  in  which  I  use  the  word  in  this  chapter. 
Insanity,  naturally,  is  not  to  be  discussed  in  any  of 
its  phases  here. 

In  the  third  class  are  comprised  all  children  who 
steal  for  the  sake  of  finding  exercise  or  outlet  for 
their  physical  energy  or  their  ingenuity,  or  who 
crave  the  excitement  incidental  to  an  escape  from 
the  irate  victims  of  their  thefts.  While  the  thief  of 
the  first  class,  who  steals  for  the  sake  of  profit,  will 
only  steal  if  he  is  sure  he  can  avoid  detection,  the 
adventurous  thief  courts  danger  and  enjoys  a  hair- 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  IN  CHILDREN  31 

breadth  escape  from  the  owner  of  the  pilfered 
property.  Children  of  this  class  (the  third)  may 
belong  to  any  social  grade ;  they  are  extremely 
numerous  and  are  usually  perfectly  normal. 

The  year  before  our  school  clubs  on  Staten 
Island  were  organized  the  boys  of  the  neighbor- 
hood regularly  stole  apples  from  an  orchard  in  the 
vicinity.  The  following  autumn,  after  the  clubs 
had  been  running  for  several  months,  the  owner 
of  the  orchard  discovered  to  her  pleasure  and  sur- 
prise that  her  apples  had  been  left  untouched. 
The  explanation  of  the  changed  habits  of  the 
thieves  was  probably  this.  The  boys  were  about 
twelve  years  old,  of  small  intellectual  attainment, 
and  of  no  creative  power  or  imagination,  ignorant 
of  all  legitimate  ways  of  amusing  themselves,  and 
yet  of  unquenchable  animal  spirits.  Although  the 
district  in  which  they  lived  was  a  rural  one,  their 
houses  were  crowded  together  on  tiny  plots  of 
ground.  The  only  way  in  which  to  find  an  outlet 
for  their  physical  energy  was  to  trespass  upon  the 
large  places  of  their  more  fortunate  neighbors. 
When  ripe  apples  and  a  spice  of  danger  were 
added  as  incidental  attractions  to  the  dehght  of 
space,  it  was  easy  to  see  wherein  lay  the  charm 
of  these  marauding  expeditions.  After  a  year's 
course  in  the  clubs  these  boys  had  developed  a 
taste  for  a  number  of  things  besides  mere  physical 


32  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

activity,  and  physical  activity  itself  found  vent  in 
games  which  were  quite  as  amusing  as  apple-steal- 
ing. There  was  little  principle  involved  in  this 
return  to  virtue ;  misdirected  energy  had  simply 
been  diverted  into  a  proper  channel. 

Certain  forms  of  mental  energy  require  constant 
opposition  for  their  growth.  Now,  for  many  chil- 
dren, the  only  opposition  to  be  met  with  comes 
through  breaking  (perhaps  unconsciously)  some 
law.  (See  page  lo.)  When  I  was  about  ten  years 
old  I  spent  my  summers  in  a  beautiful  country 
place  where  my  friends  and  I  had  at  our  command 
boats,  games,  bathing  and  companions,  and  where 
we  were  given  a  remarkable  degree  of  liberty  con- 
sidering our  ages.  We  were  seldom  forbidden  to 
do  anything,  but  when  we  were,  the  wisdom  of 
the  command  was  so  apparent  that  we  had  little 
desire  to  disobey  it.  For  days  at  a  time  legitimate 
amusements  satisfied  us,  but  the  very  facility  with 
which  we  acquired  these  pleasures  made  them  pall 
upon  us  occasionally,  and  then  the  longing  for  a 
more  strenuous  Hfe  would  become  irresistible.  At 
such  times  three  or  four  of  us  would  repair  to  a 
distant  tomato  field,  where,  after  eating  our  fill,  we 
tore  dozens  of  the  fruit  from  the  vines  and  flung 
them  at  one  another  and  at  targets  marked  on  sur- 
rounding fences. 

Now,  although  the  tomatoes  themselves  tasted 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  IN  CHILDREN  33 

delicious  (we  sucked  them  through  straws,  which 
was  bad  manners  at  home)  and  one  who  has  not 
tried  it- cannot  realize  the  bliss  of  smashing  a  ripe 
tomato  on  an  opponent's  face,  the  real  charm  of 
the  expedition  consisted  in  the  hope  of  being 
chased  by  the  owner  of  the  tomato  field.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  he  never  discovered  us,  but  we  lived 
in  the  expectation  of  seeing  him  come  after  us, 
pitchfork  in  hand,  across  his  field.  The  fact  that 
opposition  existed  only  in  our  imaginations  made 
it  none  the  less  stimulating  to  our  ingenuity.  We 
had  planned  a  scheme  for  escaping  across  a  neigh- 
boring corn-field  by  aid  of  an  elaborate  system  of 
signals,  and  a  dozen  times  —  on  what  proved  to 
be  false  alarms  —  we  had  the  joy  of  operating 
this  system  in  our  efforts  to  save  ourselves  from 
our  imagined  pursuer. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  I  was  at  that  time  a 
morbidly  conscientious  child  in  regard  to  most 
things,  but  it  never  once  occurred  to  me  that  it 
was  wrong  to  steal  or  destroy  tomatoes  on  a  vine. 
Had  I  been  starving  I  would  not  have  touched 
one  in  a  shop,  but  on  a  vine  I  considered  that  it 
was  subject  to  different  moral  laws. 

A  little  later,  the  reading  of  Cooper  and  Park- 
man  suggested  to  us  other  and  more  legitimate 
ways  of  exercising  our  ingenuity  which  completely 
usurped  the  charms  of  stealing.     As  Indians,  cow- 


34  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

boys,  western  explorers  and  Spaniards,  we  fought, 
ambushed  one  another,  guarded  prisoners  who 
constantly  tried  to  elude  our  vigilance,  and  gen- 
erally imitated  the  lives  of  the  heroes  of  "  The 
Conspiracy  of  Pontiac  "  and  the  "  Leatherstocking 
Tales." 

In  the  fourth  class  of  youthful  thieves  are  the 
boys  who,  in  stealing,  yield  to  an  irresistible  temp- 
tation, and  those  of  deficient  will  power.  There  is 
a  great  difference  between  these  two  kinds  of  boys 
—  the  difference  between  the  normal  and  the  ab- 
normal. 

Now,  it  is  not  easy  to  decide  what  degree  of 
temptation  the  normal  boy  should  be  able  to  with- 
stand. It  is  certain  that  no  boy  could  resist  the 
opportunity  to  steal  food  if  he  were  in  an  advanced 
stage  of  hunger.  The  temptation  to  "  borrow  " 
pennies  from  the  club's  treasury  might  also  be 
called  an  irresistible  one  to  a  lusty  boy  of  many 
needs  (which  must  be  distinguished  from  mere 
desires)  and  no  money  of  his  own. 

There  are  many  business  occupations  for  boys 
in  which  employer  and  customer  seem  to  have 
vied  with  each  other  in  putting  a  premium  on 
stealing.  In  the  messenger  service  this  is  notice- 
ably so.  The  proper  charge  for  a  message  is,  let 
us  say,  twenty-five  cents.  The  messenger  boy, 
however,  asks  the  customer  for  thirty  cents  and 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  IN  CHILDREN  35 

pockets  the  difference.  The  company  receives 
its  legitimate  remuneration  and  therefore  asks  no 
questions.  The  customer  cares  very  little  whether 
a  message  costs  five  cents  more  or  less,  so  he  also 
asks  no  questions.  Everything  is  to  be  gained  and 
nothing  lost  by  stealing  in  this  way.  There  is 
absolutely  no  danger  for  the  boy,  and  no  appeal 
can  be  made  to  his  sympathies ;  for  his  employer 
gets  his  due,  and  the  customer  is  indifferent  to 
the  injury  done  him.  And  the  boy  is  wretchedly 
underpaid  by  the  company.  Judging  from  what 
messengers  have  told  me,  I  doubt  whether  the 
company  could  get  boys  to  do  their  work  at  its 
present  terms  if  there  were  no  chances  to  pilfer. 
I  think  one  can  safely  say  that  only  a  boy  with 
very  high  principles,  combined  with  extraordinary 
strength  of  character,  and  not  altogether  depend- 
ent upon  his  earnings  for  his  needs,  could  resist 
such  a  temptation.  And  yet  to  acquire  the  habit  of 
stealing  so  safely  and  easily  must  be  very  demoral- 
izing, and  cannot  fail  to  undermine  and  pervert 
the  moral  nature  of  the  most  normal  of  boys,  and 
to  breed  a  race  of  unscrupulous,  if  not  actually 
criminal,  men. 

By  inculcating  the  love  of  honesty  for  its  own 
sake,  regardless  of  consequences,  and  by  develop- 
ing the  perceptions  of  the  boys  to  the  point  where 
they  can  see  how  all  wrong  deeds  must  work  to  the 


36  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

ultimate  injury  of  society,  and  by  inspiring  such  a 
love  for,  and  sense  of  responsibility  toward,  society 
that  to  do  it  even  a  remote  injury  becomes  dis- 
tasteful, the  club  can  do  much  to  arm  a  boy  against 
the  demoralizing  effects  of  constant  temptation. 

The  typical  weak-willed  boy  does  not  need  to  be 
subjected  to  any  such  severe  temptation  as  this  to 
become  a  thief.  Nor  will  it  be  the  gratifying  of 
legitimate  needs  that  will  cause  his  moral  down- 
fall. The  merest  whim  —  the  desire  for  candy, 
jewellery,  or  gambling  money  —  will  be  sufficient 
to  make  him  forget  his  good  resolves  (for  the 
weak-willed  boy  always  regrets  his  misdemeanors 
and  vows  he  will  never  repeat  them)  and  go  off 
with  funds  intrusted  to  his  care. 

The  weak-willed  thief  is  never,  of  his  own  initia- 
tive, enterprising ;  he  will  only  take  what  lies  ready 
to  his  hand,  unless  he  gets  under  the  influence  of 
some  stronger  character  who  may  lead  him  into 
any  daring  scheme.  Under  these  circumstances 
the  weak  tool  is  likely  to  suffer  all  the  penalties. 

It  has  been  my  experience  that  deficient  will 
power  and  stupidity  are  the  most  difficult  and 
hopeless  of  all  abnormal  characteristics  to  deal 
with.  The  fact  that  weak  and  stupid  children  are 
often  amiable  is  not  a  happy  augury  for  their 
futures ;  young  fiends  often  stand  a  better  chance 
of  becoming  useful  men. 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  IN  CHILDREN  37 

In  making  out  the  list  of  "  crimes  "  which  are 
practised  by  normal  and  abnormal  children  alike, 
I  had  great  hesitation  in  placing  "  fighting  "  along 
with  cruelty,  and  lying,  and  other  really  bad  deeds. 
As  almost  all  women  consider  it  one  of  the  worst 
of  juvenile  crimes,  however,  it  seemed  best  to  give 
some  space  in  this  chapter  to  its  discussion. 

Next  to  stealing  and  general  vandalism,  fighting 
is  the  commonest  misdemeanor  (so-called)  of  chil- 
dren. Before  we  condemn  the  practice  we  should 
understand  the  causes  of  it.  When  the  books  of 
Parkman  and  Cooper  suggested  to  us  the  adven- 
turous games  which  took  the  place  of  stealing  ex- 
peditions, some  of  us  were  so  carried  away  by  our 
imaginations,  and  acted  our  parts  so  consistently, 
that  we  tore  one  another's  clothing,  knocked  out 
teeth,  and  drew  blood.  A  punch  in  the  face  may 
be  dealt  as  an  expression  of  righteous  indignation 
by  the  hero  to  the  villain  who  is  about  to  carry  off 
a  fair  lady  into  captivity,  but  it  is  not  likely  to 
be  received  or  returned  in  the  imaginative  spirit 
in  which  it  was  given.  The  blow  delivered  by 
Pathfinder,  pro  tent.,  in  defence  of  a  helpless  if 
imaginary  maiden,  was,  from  Pathfinder's  point  of 
view,  as  justifiable  as  any  blow  struck  for  hberty  or 
justice.  On  the  other  hand,  the  blow  returned  by 
the  villain  (suddenly  resolving  into  plain  Johnny 
Smith)  was,  from  Johnny  Smith's  point  of  view, 


38  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

only  a  natural  and  manly  expression  of  resentment 
at  an  affront  to  his  dignity. 

Theoretically,  it  may  be  very  fine  for  a  boy  to 
have  such  strong  principles  against  fighting  that 
he  will  meekly  accept  all  blows  and  insults  that 
are  given  him,  but  practically  such  a  boy  would 
be  simply  a  coward  or  would  be  lacking  in  self- 
respect  ;  for  no  boy  has  instinctive  principles 
against  fighting,  and  it  will  take  him  years  to 
acquire  intellectual  principles  against  it.  I  will 
not  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  fighting  should  be 
encouraged.  The  desire  to  fight  is,  perhaps,  a 
brutal  instinct,  but  the  child  who  has  no  brutal 
instincts  will  probably  be  lacking  in  health,  ani- 
mal spirits,  courage,  humor,  and  many  other  quali- 
ties which  are  essential  to  success  and  "  niceness  " 
in  after  life. 

Brutality  cannot  be  suppressed.  All  children 
must  work  through  and  beyond  it.  The  boy  I 
always  disliked  in  my  clubs,  and  who  never 
amounted  to  anything  when  he  grew  up,  was  the 
one  who  would  come  whining  up  to  me  and  say : 
"Teacher,  Johnny  Jones  has  been  making  faces 
at  me.  Tell  him  to  stop."  To  fight  may  be  as 
stupid  a  way  to  avenge  an  insult  as  to  whine  and 
complain,  but  it  shows  a  more  wholesome  impulse. 
With  the  development  of  reasoning  power  and 
sympathy  the  desire  to  fight,  and  the  satisfaction 


CRIMINAL   ACTS  IIV  CHILDREN  39 

gained  from  it,  ceases,  but  as  long  as  it  seems  to 
be  the  natural  way  to  express  justifiable  anger  or 
indignation  it  should  not  be  suppressed. 

The  club  adviser  must  distinguish  between  what 
may  be  called  legitimate  and  normal  fighting,  and 
the  quick,  irritable  temper  which  is  often  the  result 
of  disordered  nerves.  I  once  knew  a  small  girl 
who,  on  no  provocation  whatever,  would  suddenly 
kick  and  punch  her  companions  almost  into  insen- 
sibility, and  then  for  days  afterwards  would  suffer 
the  keenest  remorse.  "  Something  black  comes 
into  my  head  and  throat,'"  she  would  say,  and  then 
no  power  could  restrain  her  fury.  The  club  could 
do  nothing  for  a  child  like  that.  She  was  in  a  very 
abnormal  physical  condition  and  required  skilled 
physiological  treatment. 

Nor  is  mere  brutality,  unaccompanied  by  mental 
or  nervous  force,  a  normal  expression  of  youthful 
spirit.  The  Young  Potomac  Club  once  had  a 
member  who  fought  continually  in  a  cold,  passion- 
less, heavy-footed  way,  and  without  provocation ; 
for  he  had  not  temperament  enough  to  feel  hatred 
or  resentment  and  would  often  accept  the  most  in- 
sulting speeches  with  meekness.  Fighting  seemed 
to  be  necessary  to  him  for  the  growth  of  his  mus- 
cles (the  only  thing  about  him  which  nature  evi- 
dently intended  should  grow),  for  games  and 
gymnastics   required    more    mental    and    nervous 


40  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNnVG   CLUBS 

ability  than  he  possessed.  We  broke  up  his  bad 
habit  eventually  by  loading  him  down  with  stupid, 
muscular  work  —  carrying  heavy  furniture,  run- 
ning up  and  down  stairs  on  made-up  errands,  etc. 
But  it  would  not  do  to  have  many  such  members 
in  a  club,  for  they  would  soon  do  away  with  all  its 
intellectual  features. 

Love  of  fighting  and  brutality  must  never  be 
mistaken  for  cruelty.  The  former  are  almost  in- 
variably the  expression  of  some  kind  of  nervous 
or  physical  energy,  while  the  latter,  in  normal 
natures,  is  merely  the  result  of  undeveloped  sym- 
pathy, unconsciousness  of  the  existence  and  nature 
of  pain  or  curiosity.^  Only  abnormal  or  degen- 
erate people  practise  cruelty  because  they  derive 
pleasure  from  the  spectacle  of  suffering. 

Without  a  qualm  perfectly  normal  children  will 
often  practise  barbarities  of  the  vilest  description. 
A  boy  I  knew  as  a  child,  and  who  is  now  a  kind 
and  amiable  gentleman,  once  caught  a  hapless  rat 
which  he  covered  with  oil  and  then  set  free  —  in 
flames.  To  the  rest  of  us  this  act  appeared  so 
revolting  that  for  a  week  we  refused  to  speak  to 
the  boy,  and  yet  we  ourselves  did  things  almost  as 

1  "The  cruel  treatment  of  insects  and  other  animals  in  which, 
particularly,  young  boys  engage  good-naturedly  and  with  no  evil 
intention  .  .  .  originates  in  the  little  boy's  desire  to  obtain  an 
insight  into  the  inner  life  of  the  animal  and  to  get  at  its  spirit."  — 
Froebel,  "  Education  of  Man,"  p.  164. 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  IN  CHILDREN  41 

cruel  to  animals  whose  personalities  did  not  appeal 
to  our  affections.  It  was  not  cruelty  in  the  ab- 
stract that  revolted  us,  but  only  when  applied  to 
some  creature  which,  from  its  beauty  or  imagined 
good  qualities,  appealed  to  our  fancies.  For  in- 
stance, to  quote  again  my  own  childish  feelings  on 
the  subject,  I  had  read  stories  endowing  bears  and 
mice  with  supernatural  charms  and  virtues,  and 
consequently  bears  and  mice  appeared  to  me  to  be 
worthy  of  all  kindness.  Roosters  and  snakes,  on 
the  other  hand,  had  had  no  attractive  romances 
woven  about  them  in  those  days,  and  their  per- 
sonalities were  disagreeable  to  me.  Consequently, 
I  never  hesitated  to  tease  or  hurt  them.  Even 
now,  I  confess  that  my  sympathy  for  an  animal  or 
a  person  depends  largely  upon  whether  it  appears 
to  me  attractive  and  lovable.  Until  I  had  read  of 
old  Kaa  and  his  hunting,  common  decency  to  snakes 
was  more  a  matter  of  fear  than  favor  on  my  part. 
As  no  one  that  I  know  of  has  as  yet  undertaken 
the  apotheosis  of  the  rooster  I  will  refrain  from 
saying  what  are  still  my  sentiments  in  regard  to 
this  animal. 

Weakness /^r  j"^  does  not  inspire  feelings  of  gal- 
lantry even  in  the  best  of  children.  Our  savage 
forefathers  allowed  the  physical  weaklings  among 
them  to  die  for  want  of  attention  or  from  hard 
treatment;    and  thus  only  the  vigorous  survived 


42  BOVS'   SELF-GOVERNriYG    CLUBS 

to  become  the  progenitors  of  the  race.  With 
children  this  rude  plan  is  still  operative  in  deter- 
mining what  mental  and  moral  characteristics 
shall    survive. 

It  is  not  necessarily  a  love  of  hurting  or  a  pas- 
sion of  hatred  that  makes  the  older  boys  kick  and 
cuff  the  little  brother  who  wants  to  "  tag "  into 
submission  to  their  orders  to  "  stay  behind."  There 
is  an  element  of  rude  justice  in  the  seemingly  cruel 
act.  The  little  boy  has  no  right  to  interfere  with 
the  big  boys'  doings.  He  probably  has  (his 
mother  should  certainly  provide  him  with)  oppor- 
tunities for  gaining  his  own  friends  and  legitimate 
pleasures  without  bothering  people  who  naturally 
do  not  want  him.  If  he  were  once  taken  on  an 
excursion  v/ith  the  older  boys  he  would  never  again 
leave  them  in  peace  until  they  took  him  again  and 
spoiled  their  own  pleasure,  or  —  kicked  him  into 
silence  and  a  consciousness  of  his  own  proper 
status  in  the  world.  I  have  known  boys  who 
would  sacrifice  everything  for  a  baby  placed  in 
their  care  whom  they  felt  was  really  helpless  and 
had  a  right  to  their  protection,  or  who  would  run 
their  legs  off  to  wait  on  an  aged  person,  who  would 
act  like  fiends  to  some  one  they  felt  ought  to 
have  been  able  to  take  care  of  himself,  but  who 
tried  to  sponge  upon  them  and  to  interfere  unjustly 
with  their  pleasure.     In  this  barbarous  way  chil- 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  IN  CHILDREN  43 

dren   effectively  insure  the  survival  of   the    lusty 
virtues  of  independence  and  self-reliance. 

Meekness  is  extolled  as  a  virtue  by  the  Bible, 
but  there  seems  to  be  a  deep  aversion  to  this  char- 
acteristic instinctive  in  the  human  race.  I  have 
never  yet  seen  meek  children  or  grown  persons 
who  were  not  overloaded  with  work  and  abuse, 
and  who  had  not,  per  contra,  stimulated  arrogance, 
injustice  and  aggressiveness  in  their  associates. 

Now,  while  a  child  who  is  cruel  in  any  way 
should  be  reproved,  and  should  have  its  sense 
of  pity  and  sympathy  developed,  the  little  tag- 
ging brother  should  be  taught  to  keep  his  place, 
and  the  meek  companion  should  be  stimulated 
to  exhibit  greater  self-respect  and  assertiveness. 

Sympathy  must  first  be  developed  in  the  concrete 
and  then  in  the  abstract.  A  normal  child,  no  matter 
how  cruel  it  may  seem  to  be,  will  respond  readily 
to  an  appeal  to  its  sense  of  pity.  It  may  be  some 
time  before  it  learns  the  principles  of  kindness  and 
gentleness  to  all  creatures,  but  it  will  easily  learn 
to  be  kind  and  gentle  in  particular  instances. 

Unhke  stealing,  vandahsm  and  fighting,  gam- 
bling is  not  a  spontaneous  and  natural  expres- 
sion of  a  boy's  energy.  Some  one  must  show 
him  how  to  gamble,  and  then  a  normally  consti- 
tuted boy  will  only  indulge  in  it  if  he  has  no 
other  means  of  amusing  himself.     Nearly  all  the 


44  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNIMG    CLUBS 

boys  in  my  Tenth  Ward  clubs  had  been  "  crap 
shooters  "  when  no  better  opportunity  for  pleasure 
offered,  but  they  readily  gave  up  this  and  other 
fascinating  gambling  games  in  the  hope  of  be- 
coming eligible  as  members  of  some  club.  (Club 
constitutions  always  provide  that  gamblers  are 
not  to  be  admitted.)  If  they  were  elected  at  last, 
the  affairs  of  the  club  afforded  them  so  much  to 
talk  about  and  do,  that  they  seldom  had  time  to 
revert  to  their  old  bad  habits. 

I  do  not  think  a  child  ever  has  a  conscience 
about  gambling  or  an  instinct  that  it  is  wrong. 
He  may,  therefore,  with  perfect  innocence,  acquire 
a  habit  which  will  prove  his  ruin  in  after  life. 

The  charm  of  gambling  is  very  insidious ;  the 
more  one  does  it  the  more  one  wants  to  do  it. 
The  important  thing,  therefore,  is  to  keep  boys 
so  occupied  with  other  things  that  they  will  not 
have  time  to  gamble  sufficiently  often  to  fall  under 
its  spell.  In  addition  to  this  they  should  learn 
principles  against  it.  I  always  tried  to  explain 
to  my  club  boys  how  essentially  dishonest  gam- 
bling is  —  how,  when  they  win  from  their  oppo- 
nents, they  take  money  which  they  have  in  no 
sense  earned,  and  for  which  they  give  no  fair 
equivalent ;  —  how  their  gain  can  never  be  any- 
thing but  another's  loss ;  —  how  in  losing  they 
often  have  to  part  with   a    sum    disproportionate 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  IN  CHILDREN  45 

to  the  amount  of  pleasure  received  in  the  game ;  — 
how  the  habit  associates  them  with  idle,  even  low, 
company;' — how  gambling  can  become  a  passion 
so  absorbing  that  all  other  interests  in  life  are 
forgotten ;  —  how  gambling  debts  lead  one  into 
the  temptation  to  steal. 

Practically  all  children  lie.  Sometimes  they  do 
it  through  fear,  sometimes  to  gain  an  advantage,  and 
sometimes  because  they  scarcely  know  the  difference 
between  truth  and  mendacity. 

Normal  children  know  that  untruthfulness  is 
wrong,  but  the  benefit  to  themselves  of  a  lie  is 
often  so  immediate  and  apparent,  and  the  harm 
to  other  people  so  remote  and  problematical,  that 
they  never  hesitate  to  tell  one  when  occasion 
requires  it.  The  most  forceful  argument  against 
lying  is  that  no  one  trusts  a  liar.  The  cowardli- 
ness of  telling  an  untruth,  too,  should  be  empha- 
sized, and  a  general  hatred  and  horror  of  the 
practice  inculcated.     (See  page  106.) 

Children  in  their  ordinary  games  and  occupa- 
tions have  no  opportunity  to  bribe  or  to  be  bribed. 
In  the  club,  however,  the  brightest  boys  nearly 
always  discover  that  the  distribution  of  pennies 
and  promises  before  an  election  is  an  effective  way 
to  get  a  coveted  office.  Undeveloped  perception 
of  right  and  wrong  usually  accounts  for  this  form 
of  criminal  behavior.     (See  page  140.) 


46  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

Too  often  boys  are  judged  to  be  criminal  be- 
cause they  break  some  arbitrary  law  or  ordinance 
made  by  their  parents  or  town.  A  boy  with  the 
blood  of  explorers  in  his  veins  is  forbidden  to  go 
outside  his  own  gate,  and  when  he  is  found  a 
mile  from  home  his  mother  feels  her  child  is  on 
the  road  to  ruin.  The  frequently  discussed  cur- 
few ordinance  is  one  which  the  child's  best  nature 
and  the  circumstances  of  his  life  make  impossible 
to  obey.^  And  yet,  if  this  ordinance  were  to  be 
enacted,  hundreds  of  boys  would,  by  their  subse- 
quent arrest,  be  branded  as  lawbreakers,  with  the 
result  that  either  the  boys  would  lose  respect  for 
themselves  or  for  their  laws. 

Some  readers  may  think  that  I  have  not  drawn 
a  sufficiently  grim  and  horrible  picture  of  juvenile 
crime.  "  Why !  "  they  will  say,  "  we  did  just 
these  things  when  we  were  children,  and  yet  we 
have  turned  out  all  right"  Perhaps  you  have 
turned  out  all  right,  but  would  you  have  done  so  if 
you  had  been  tempted  to  do  wrong  day  after  day  ; 
if  you  had  not  had  the  constant  care  and  advice  of 
wise  parents,  the  advantage  of  an  excellent  edu- 
cation, and  chances  to  amuse  yourself  in  a  thou- 
sand legitimate  and  elevating  ways  .-*  If  you  or  I 
ruined  the  tomatoes  of  some  poor  farmer,  the  only 

1  See  North  American  Reviezv  for  March,  1897,  "Some  Objec- 
tions to  a  Children's  Curfew,"  by  Winifred  Buck. 


CRIMINAL  ACTS  IN  CHILDREN  47 

risk  we  ran  was  of  involving  our  fathers  in  a  bill 
for  damages.  If  a  boy  in  the  Tenth  Ward  steals 
some  little  thing  in  a  spirit  of  adventure,  he  is  lia- 
ble to  arrest  (which  is  in  itself  demoralizing)  and 
then  to  be  sent  to  an  institution  where  he  will  have 
to  associate  with  many  abnormal  and  degraded 
boys,  and  where  the  training  he  gets  may  not  be 
very  scientific  or  improving.^ 

The  circumstances  of  your  life  should  strengthen 
and  develop  you ;  the  circumstances  in  the  lives  of 
the  most  normal  children  in  the  slums  often  tend 
only  to  degrade  them. 

The  club  can  do  much,  as  will  be  seen  later,  to 
break  up  the  dangerous,  criminal  habits  of  normal 
children,  but  it  is  in  the  line  of  developing  positive 
virtues  that  the  club  excels.  A  word  or  two  may 
be  all  that  is  needed  to  break  a  boy  of  the  practice 
of  stealing  or  lying,  but  it  will  take  years  of  talk  to 
make  him  acquire  the  habit  of  doing  wise  and  kind 
things  for  others  whenever  he  gets  the  chance.  In 
the  chapters  which  follow  it  will  be  plain  what 
special  kinds  of  goodness  and  wisdom  are  devel- 
oped by  the  experiences  of  the  club. 

1  New  York  has  now  a  "  Children's  Court,"  where  a  special  judge 
is  detailed  to  try  the  cases  of  arrested  boys  and  girls.  If  the  cir- 
cumstances seem  to  warrant  it,  these  children  are  released  on  pro- 
bation ;  that  is,  as  long  as  they  behave  themselves  they  are  free,  but 
as  soon  as  they  are  found  to  be  guilty  of  breaking  some  law,  they 
are  instantly  committed  to  some  reformatory  institution. 


CHAPTER   III 

PRELIMINARY    ARRANGEMENTS   FOR   A    CLUB.       MEET- 
ING-PLACE,      EQUIPMENT 

The  first  step  taken  by  a  young  man  or  woman 
who  intends  to  organize  a  Boys'  Self-governing 
Club  will  be  to  obtain  a  room  in  which  to  hold 
meetings.  In  the  largest  cities  there  are  many 
social  settlements  where  one  may  find  accommoda- 
tions for  the  use  of  which  a  merely  nominal  sum 
will  be  asked ;  but  in  smaller  towns  and  country 
villages,  the  difficulty  of  securing  a  proper  room 
is  a  serious  damper  on  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
prospective  club  adviser  whose  means  are  not 
unlimited. 

In  New  York  City,  not  only  do  the  "  settle- 
ments "  harbor  a  large  number  of  clubs,  but, 
within  the  last  five  years,  many  of  the  public 
schools  do  this  also.  Last  winter  (1901-1902)  the 
indoor  playgrounds  of  twelve  public  schools  were 
kept  open  every  week-day  evening  for  games  and 
gymnastics,  while  two  class-rooms  in  each  school 
were   free   for   the    "business   meetings"    of   the 

48 


PRELIMINAR  Y-  A  RRANGEMENTS  49 

clubs.  The  New  York  school  board  was  one  of 
the  first  (if  not  the  first)  to  recognize  in  this  prac- 
tical way  the  self-educating  force  of  these  juvenile 
organizations.  But,  since  the  plan  of  using  the 
schools  for  this  purpose  has  now  been  proved  to 
be  perfectly  feasible  and  very  successful,  even  in 
the  roughest  and  poorest  city  wards,  I  cannot  see 
why  the  smaller  cities  and  towns  all  over  the  country 
could  not  be  persuaded  to  follow  the  good  example 
set  by  New  York. 

Mr.  Jacob  A.  Riis,  whom  New  York  has  to 
thank  for  so  many  improvements,  was  the  first 
person  in  this  country  to  say  that  the  public  schools 
should  be  used  for  other  purposes  than  those  of 
instruction,  simply,  and  it  was  owing  to  his  efforts, 
and  those  of  the  Public  Education  Association  of 
New  York,  that  the  laws  were  so  amended  as  to 
give  the  Board  of  Education  in  this  city  the  right 
to  allow  the  school  buildings  to  be  used  for  "  rec- 
reative "  as  well  as  "instructive"  purposes.  In 
1897  six  clubs  were  established  in  a  pubhc  school 
in  the  famous  Tenth  Ward  by  the  Association  just 
mentioned,  and  for  two  years  and  a  half  these 
clubs  were  run  at  private  expense.  When  it  was 
proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  among  the  children 
there  was  a  great  demand  for  such  accommodations 
as  the  public  schools  afforded,  and  that  the  school 
property  was  not  endangered  by  the  presence  of 


50  BOVS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

the  clubs,  the  Board  of  Education  readily  under- 
took the  expense  and  responsibihty  of  continuing 
(on  a  much  larger  scale)  the  work  which  had  been 
unofficially  inaugurated.  And  so,  in  almost  any 
town  or  city,  an  object-lesson  proving  the  feasibility 
of  the  plan  would  have  to  be  furnished  first  by  pri- 
vate effort.  A  school  board  is  not  in  office  to  try 
experiments  at  the  expense  of  the  taxpayers  ;  but 
unless  this  body  is  extremely  conservative  it  would 
not  refuse  to  adopt  a  new  educational  scheme 
whose  success  had  been  already  demonstrated. 
The  idea  that  the  social  as  well  as  educational  life 
of  a  neighborhood  should  have  its  focus  in  the 
public  school,  is  one  that  is  growing  in  favor  in 
the  largest  cities  ;  and  while  the  church  is  still  the 
centre  of  the  best  activities  in  country  districts, 
there  is  enough  work  that  ought  yet  to  be  done  for 
rural  populations  to  tax  to  their  utmost  capacity 
both  churches  and  pubhc  schools. 

In  speaking  of  churches  the  idea  naturally  sug- 
gests itself  that  the  Sunday-school  room  might  be 
loaned  for  clubs  on  those  afternoons  and  evenings 
when  it  was  not  the  scene  of  regular  parochial 
activities.  Many  complications  would  be  sure  to 
arise,  however,  as  soon  as  a  club  came  under 
church  jurisdiction.  There  are  clergymen  who 
would  insist  that  religious  exercises  be  given  a 
place  on  the  club's  programme,  or  that  members 


PRELIMINARY  ARRANGEMENTS  51 

should  be  limited  to  x:hurch  attendants ;  while  to 
obey  either  of  these  rules  would  be  to  change  the 
peculiar,  democratic  character  of  the  club.  Then, 
too,  it  must  be  confessed  that  there  are  boys  — 
excellent  boys,  full  of  energy,  affection  and  intelli- 
gence —  who  would  feel  (to  use  the  term  they 
would  employ)  that  it "  queered  "  a  club  to  meet 
in  a  Sunday-school  room.  On  the  ground  of 
economy,  however,  such  a  room  is  so  desirable 
that  it  would  be  well  worth  while  to  make  some 
arrangement  by  which  you  (and  "you  "  I  address 
here  and  hereafter  as  a  future  club  adviser)  may 
be  given  liberty  in  the  Sunday-school  room  to  run 
your  club  on  club  principles  and  without  undue 
interference. 

Failing  a  room  in  a  settlement,  a  public  school 
or  a  Sunday-school,  there  remains  nothing  for 
you  to  do  but  resort  to  the  costly  expedient  of 
renting  one  in  a  private  house  or  office  build- 
ing. If  you  are  obliged  to  do  this,  there  is  no 
special  precaution  to  be  taken  in  making  your 
selection  beyond  exercising  the  obviously  necessary 
care  in  choosing  a  house  whose  inhabitants  are 
of  respectable  character.  On  general  principles, 
the  larger  the  room  you  can  afford  to  get  the 
better  it  will  be  for  your  club;  but  a  room  of 
any  size  whatsoever  will,  after  a  fashion,  answer 
the  purpose. 


52  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

At  last,  undoubtedly,  from  among  all  these  pos- 
sibilities you  will  be  able  to  choose  a  meeting- 
place  which  suits  you.  If  it  is  in  a  settlement  or 
parish  house,  you  will  not  be  required  to  prepare  it 
in  any  way  for  your  occupancy ;  but  if  it  is  in  a 
public  school,  or  a  rented  room,  the  question  of  its 
suitable  equipment  will  yet  remain  for  you  to 
decide  —  that  is,  indeed,  if  it  is  to  be  furnished  at 
all  in  the  beginning.  I  feel,  and  rather  strongly 
so,  that  it  is  better  to  organize  the  club  in  an 
empty  room  and  to  let  the  members  buy  or  make, 
little  by  little,  what  decorations  and  furniture  and 
games  they  may  need,  than  to  start  at  once  with 
unsuggestive  perfection  of  appointment.  How- 
ever, much  may  be  said  in  favor  of  both  plans. 
A  beautiful  room  which  is  filled  with  games  and 
gymnastic  apparatuses  sure  to  have  a  tremendous 
attraction  for  boys  whose  circumstances  in  life  do 
not  afford  much  that  is  either  beautiful  or  amus- 
ing. By  simply  opening  the  doors  of  such  a  room 
and  welcoming  in  the  "street"  you  can  gather 
together  the  material  for  your  club  with  little 
exertion  on  your  part.  And  when  your  club  is 
organized  the  pictures  which  you  will  have  placed 
upon  the  walls  commence  at  once  to  exert  a 
refining  influence,  while  the  parallel  bars  and  the 
games  will  perform  their  usual  service  in  develop- 
ing: muscles  and  character. 


PRELIMINARY  ARRANGEMENTS  53 

But,  as  I  have  said  already  in  Chapter  I,  when 
completion  is  once  attained  the  child  loses  his 
interest  or  expresses  it  in  destruction.  I  have 
frequently  observed,  too,  that  a  lawless  set  of  boys, 
turned  loose  in  a  room  for  the  furnishing  of  which 
they  have  made  no  sacrifices,  are  far  more  ready 
to  smash  things  than  when  they  feel  a  proprietary 
interest  in  games  and  tables.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  a  boy  must  have  owned  things  which  he 
has  earned  or  made  for  himself,  to  be  able  fully  to 
respect  the  ownership  of  other  people. 

I  once  visited  a  club  in  New  York  where  the 
principle  of  allowing  the  boys  to  furnish  their  own 
room  had  been  carried  out  to  the  fullest  extent. 
This  club  had  been  organized  by  a  Miss  H.,  a 
young  Southern  woman.  She  had  rented  a  small, 
dilapidated  room  in  the  basement  of  one  of  the  so- 
called  Italian  quarters.  As  she  had  barely  money 
enough  to  pay  the  rent,  it  was  impossible  for  her 
to  buy  even  tables  or  chairs.  Nevertheless,  and 
solely  through  the  force  of  a  very  charming  per- 
sonality, she  had  gathered  about  her  some  twenty 
of  the  toughest-looking  street  arabs  that  could  be 
found  in  the  neighborhood.  These  boys  she  had 
in  some  way  inspired  with  an  idea  of  loyalty  and 
devotion  to  the  organization  they  were  about  to 
form,  and  their  one  thought  was  to  fit  up  their  club- 
room  in   worthy    style.      Their   energy   was  first 


54  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

bestowed  upon  its  very  dirty  floors  and  windows 
which,  with  borrowed  soap  and  brushes,  they 
vigorously  scrubbed.  Next,  they  set  to  work  to 
make  furniture.  All  the  shops  in  the  neighbor- 
hood were  visited,  and  nails,  old  boards  and  boxes 
were  begged  from  their  owners.  Half  a  dozen 
benches  and  a  table  were  ingeniously  fashioned 
out  of  this  material.  Then  —  a  great  event  in  the 
club's  history  —  two  dozen  beautiful,  bright  red 
kindergarten  chairs  were  presented  to  it.  These 
chairs  were  rather  small,  it  is  true,  for  boys  of 
fourteen  ;  but  they  were  considered  so  ornamental 
that  the  members  were  stimulated  to  fresh  efforts. 
One  boy,  after  having  disappeared  for  a  week, 
returned  with  a  hanging  book-case  which  he  had 
very  cleverly  constructed  with  wire  and  the  sides 
of  wooden  boxes.  These  shelves  were  at  once 
suspended  upon  the  wall,  where  their  emptiness 
was  a  continual  reminder  of  their  need  for  books. 
The  ornamentation  of  the  walls  was  not  being 
neglected  because  of  more  imperative  needs. 
Bright-colored  pictures  from  the  Sunday  papers 
were  collected  in  great  numbers.  Miss  H.  in- 
sisted that  the  boys  should  exercise  some  selection 
before  pinning  up  all  these  artistic  contributions. 
This  picture,  she  pointed  out,  was  vulgar  in  sub- 
ject while  that  was  badly  drawn,  as  could  be  easily 
seen.     The   dormant  critical  faculty  of  the  boys 


PRELIMINARY  ARRANGEMENTS  55 

was  at  once  awakened,  and  after  that  all  pictures 
were  subjected  to  such  severe  criticism  (usually 
expressed  physically  by  the  critics)  that  few  re- 
mained in  sufficiently  good  shape  to  appear  upon 
the  walls.  Indeed,  for  a  time,  so  fierce  was  the 
feeling  between  donors  of  colored  supplements 
and  the  artistic  reformers  that  it  seemed  as  if  few 
of  the  members  themselves  could  survive  the 
terrible  experiences  resulting  from  generosity  on 
the  one  hand  and  criticism  on  the  other.  How- 
ever, all  differences  of  opinion  ceased  when  a 
friend  from  "  up-town "  presented  to  the  club 
three  framed  pictures,  —  one  a  colored  lithograph 
of  a  lion,  another  of  some  red  roses,  and  the  third  a 
colored  photograph  of  a  river  with  the  boughs  of 
soft  green  trees  overhanging  its  banks.  Perhaps 
you  will  think  that  even  these  pictures  were  not 
very  "  high  art."  That  is  quite  true.  But  they 
had  the  merit  of  being  unpretentious  in  subject, 
well  drawn,  extremely  decorative  just  as  bits  of 
color,  and  technically  good  specimens  of  two 
different  processes  of  reproduction.  It  is  quite  as 
important  to  gratify  a  child's  taste  for  color  as  it 
is  to  develop  higher  artistic  perception,  and  it  is 
impossible  to  buy  reproductions  of  the  greatest 
art  (even  if  it  were  not  sacrilege  to  do  so)  in  color. 
In  a  school  I  should  feel  that  the  problem  was 
quite   different    from    that   presented    in    a   club. 


56  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

Education  in  school  is  largely  receptive  and  not 
expressive.  There,  I  should  advocate  hanging 
photographs  of  the  best  paintings  only,  so  that  the 
child  might  always  have  before  him  the  highest 
standard.  This  is  bound  to  influence  not  only 
his  artistic  taste  but  his  perception  of  truth, 
although  he  will  be  quite  unconscious  that  this 
influence  (which  is  from  the  outside)  is  at  work 
upon  him.  In  a  club  the  child  is  supposed  to  be 
developing  a  conscious  critical  faculty  through 
expressing  himself  in  a  process  of  selection  and 
elimination.  He  may  like,  but  he  cannot  at  first 
understand,  the  highest  art,  and  the  aim  of  the 
club  is  to  make  him  understand.  He  must  work 
up  through  the  cruder  and  more  elementary  sub- 
jects and  processes  to  the  highest,  just  as  he  will 
have  to  work  his  way  in  the  club  through  from 
the  simplest  concepts  of  law  and  morality  to  an 
understanding  of  the  complicated  systems  which 
are  necessary  to  insure  happiness  and  justice 
to-day.  And  in  art,  as  in  government  and  moral- 
ity, the  club  boy  will  learn  to  know  the  best  and 
most  profound  through  "  experiencing  "  it. 

In  a  recent  address.  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  said 
something  to  the  effect  that  it  was  better  for  the 
people  to  read  anything,  however  worthless,  than 
nothing.  This  is  true  because  the  appetite  for  read- 
ing is  never  satisfied  —  it  grows  with  indulgence ; 


PRELIMINARY  ARRANGEMENTS  57 

and  it  is  no  less  true  that  the  normal  human  being 
continually  demands  something  higher  and  better ; 
the  main  thing  is  to  start  him  off  on  the  ascent. 
An  interest  in  a  bad  picture  or  a  vulgar  newspaper 
is  better,  as  Dr.  Abbott  said,  than  no  interest  in 
any  kind  of  art  or  literature ;  for  at  least  the 
interest  in  inferior  things  may  be  made  the  first 
step  in  an  ascent  to  better  taste,  while  lack  of 
interest  leads  to  no  development  at  all.  With  pic- 
tures or  newspapers  (and  later  on  with  law-making 
and  morality)  let  the  child  simply  express  his 
natural,  uncultivated  predilections,  no  matter  how 
much  they  may  shock  your  better-trained  sensibil- 
ities. Your  duty  lies  simply  in  giving  him  the 
opportunity  to  choose  something  better  from  time 
to  time  and  in  explaining  why  it  is  better. 

But  to  return  to  our  little  Italian  club.  The 
artistic  standard  of  every  member  rose  about 
three  degrees  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  the 
framed,  colored  pictures,  and  such  of  the  news- 
paper cuts  as  still  existed,  after  the  many  battles 
which  had  raged  around  them,  were  torn  down, 
while  a  movement  was  started  to  save  the  con- 
tents of  the  club's  treasury  to  buy  more  pictures 
like  the  much-appreciated  gift.  I  doubt  whether 
the  new  pictures  were  ever  bought,  however,  for 
by  that  time  the  club  was  saving  the  modest 
three-cent    dues    of    the    members    to    help    pay 


58  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNIN'G   CLUBS 

the  rent,  to  go  on  an  outing  to  the  park,  to  pur- 
chase a  foot-ball  for  the  outing,  and  also  to  buy, 
I  do  not  remember  how  many,  other  objects  with 
which  to  improve  the  comfort  and  appearance  of 
their  room. 

One  can  easily  see  what  a  stimulus  to  worthy 
efforts  of  many  kinds  this  empty  room  had  proved 
to  be.  Of  course,  a  great  deal  more  trouble 
and  responsibility  were  thrown  upon  Miss  H.  than 
would  have  been  the  case  had  she  started  with 
complete  equipment.  In  the  latter  event  it  would 
have  been  necessary  for  her  only  to  let  each  boy 
amuse  himself  with  a  game  and  turn  him  out  if 
he  became  disorderly.  But,  although  her  nerves 
might  have  been  spared  by  pursuing  such  a  policy, 
the  boys  would  have  missed  a  very  great  opportu- 
nity for  development. 

When  a  club  is  running  in  a  small  room  where 
there  are  only  a  limited  number  of  members  (say 
ten  or  fifteen),  there  is  no  question  in  my  mind 
that  it  is  best  to  let  the  boys  themselves  make 
or  buy  the  equipment.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
a  small,  privately  rented  room  possesses  a  unique 
advantage  over  a  school  or  settlement.  Rooms 
in  a  settlement  would  be  furnished  before  you 
occupied  them.  In  a  schoolhouse  the  rooms 
would  be  so  vast  in  size  and  the  boys  so  numer- 
ous and   so  nearly  strangers  to   you,  that  to  try 


PRELIMINARY  ARRANGEMENTS  59 

the  scheme  adopted  in  the  Italian  club  would  be 
quite  impracticable. 

But,  whether  you  let  the  boys  themselves  buy 
or  gradually  make  the  necessary  outfit,  or  whether 
you  buy  it  yourself  complete  at  the  outset,  there 
is  in  both  cases  an  ideal  toward  which  you  will 
work.  For  the  benefit  of  the  wholly  inexperi- 
enced I  will  enumerate  the  most  useful  things 
and  those  which  will  serve  to  make  the  room 
amusing  and  instructive. 

For  chairs,  those  which  fold  (with  wood,  not 
canvas,  seats)  are  most  convenient,  for  when  not 
in  use  they  occupy  little  space.  There  should  be 
one  chair  for  each  member  in  regular  attendance, 
and  two  or  three  extra  ones  for  visitors. 

The  tables  should  be  small,  —  about  two  and  a 
half  feet  square,  —  and  there  should  be  four  of 
them  for  a  club  of  twenty  boys. 

It  is  important  to  have  some  kind  of  a  lock  box, 
closet  or  cupboard  in  which  to  keep  games. 

In  a  large  room  where  basket-ball  or  foot-ball 
is  played,  glass-covered  pictures  had  better  be 
omitted,  for  they  are  sure  to  be  damaged. 

Active  or  violent  games  and  gymnastic  exercises 
will  be  better  in  all  respects  for  your  boys  than 
quiet  games ;  for,  in  the  poorer  quarters  of  the 
city  (where  a  club  is  most  Hkely  to  be  established) 
the  lack  of  opportunity  for  physical  exercise  is 


6o  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

accountable  for  much  of  the  brutahty  and  mis- 
chief, as  well  as  the  unhealthiness,  of  growing 
boys.  Violent  games,  however,  such  as  foot-ball, 
hockey,  etc.,  require  much  more  space  than  is 
likely  to  be  afforded  by  a  privately  rented  room. 
In  a  small  room  (say  fifteen  feet  square)  the 
following  games,  which  are  classified  as  "  active  " 
in  contradistinction  to  "violent"  games,  may  be 
played  with  perfect  facility :  ring-toss,  shuffle- 
board,  grace-hoops,  battledore  and  shuttlecock,  all 
shooting-at-the-mark  games,  ping-pong  (which 
requires  a  large  table)  and  pillow-dex.  Boxing 
and  tether  ball  might  certainly  be  called  violent 
games,  but,  nevertheless,  they  can  be  played  in 
a  room  fifteen  feet  square. 

There  are  many  pieces  of  gymnastic  apparatus 
which  can  be  used  in  a  small  room,  although 
they  should  not  be  allowed  to  occupy  so  much  of 
the  floor  that  there  will  be  no  space,  even  when 
they  are  pushed  to  the  wall,  for  the  paraphernaha 
of  the  business  meeting  —  viz.,  chairs  for  the 
members  and  a  table  for  the  officers.  The 
interest  in  gymnastic  exercises  can  be  greatly 
increased  by  systematic  instruction,  but  unless 
you  wish  to  change  your  free,  self-governing 
club  into  a  class,  with  all  the  necessary  arbitrary 
discipline  of  a  class,  no  systematic  instruction  in 
anything  should  be  given.     The  boys  should  be 


PRELIMINARY  ARRANGEMENTS  6l 

encouraged  to  take  lessons  outside,  however,  so 
as  to  fit  themselves  to  enjoy  and  take  advantage 
of  the  opportunities  offered  by  the  club. 

Here  is  a  list  of  the  small  gymnastic  pieces 
which  stand  upon  the  floor  or  which  are  attached 
to  the  wall,  and  which  are  suitable  for  the  small 
room  just  described :  vaulting-horse,  vaulting- 
buck,  horizontal  and  vaulting  bar,  parallel  bars, 
teeter  ladder,  hitch  and  kick  standards,  leaping 
boards,  bouncing  boards,  single-scull  rowing  ma- 
chine, jumping  standards,  balance-beams  and 
punching-bags.  There  is  also  a  great  variety 
of  wall  attachments  for  the  development  of  the 
chest,  wrist,  foot  and  other  parts  of  the  body, 
but  an  inexpensive  Whitely  exerciser  answers  the 
purpose  for  a  club  quite  well  enough. 

Mattresses  should,  of  course,  be  placed  near 
most  of  these  pieces  for  safety  in  case  of  falls. 

Now,  even  when  they  meet  in  a  large  room,  a 
certain  number  of  boys  always  like  quiet  table 
games.  Of  games  of  this  class  the  following  were 
popular  in  my  clubs :  chess  and  authors,  for 
Hebrew  boys  of  fourteen  and  over ;  checkers, 
backgammon,  old  maid,  halma,  dominoes,  croki- 
nole,  conette  and  anagrams,  for  boys  over  ten ; 
and  dissected  maps,  messenger  boy,  fish-pond  and 
colored  pencils,  for  boys  of  ten  and  under. 

Violent  games  (hockey,  basket-ball,  foot-ball  or 


62  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

base-ball),  which,  as  I  have  said,  cannot  be  played 
in  any  but  the  largest  rooms,  are  by  far  the  best 
for  mind,  muscle  and  character.  The  indoor 
playground  of  a  public  school,  which  will  not 
be  less  than  forty  feet  long,  is  the  ideal  place  for 
such  games  in  winter.  By  arranging  your  games 
and  gymnastic  apparatus  in  the  following  way, 
thirty  big  boys  may  be  kept  intelHgently  interested 
and  occupied  in  a  room  45  x  25  feet  in  size.  First, 
I  would  set  up  at  the  ends  of  the  room  the  bas- 
kets for  basket-ball.  In  this  game,  if  the  boys 
are  not  more  than  ten  years  old,  one  more  than 
the  regular  five  to  a  side  may  perfectly  well  be 
added ;  for  by  so  doing  the  pleasures  and  benefits 
of  the  game  will  not  be  curtailed,  while  two  more 
boys  will  have  the  opportunity  to  enjoy  them. 
Foot-ball  (Rugby)  may  be  played  quite  as  well  as 
basket-ball  in  the  middle  of  a  large  playground, 
although  some  of  the  finer  points  of  the  game  are 
necessarily  lost  in  the  comparatively  limited  space 
of  any  room.  Base-ball,  too,  may  be  played  here, 
although  it  naturally  requires  some  modification. 
By  substituting  an  ordinary  soft  tennis-ball  for  the 
usual  hard  base-ball,  this  game  can  be  played  with 
perfect  safety  for  heads  and  windows.  Hockey  is 
also  an  excellent  game  for  the  middle  of  a  large 
playground  ;  but,  like  base-ball,  it  should  be  played 
with  a  soft  ball. 


PRELIMINARY  ARRANGEMENTS  63 

In  one  corner  of  this  large  playground  (in  the 
centre  of  which  some  violent  game  is  playing)  I 
would  hang  a  punching-bag,  and  would  fasten 
upon  the  wall,  a  little  to  one  side  of  the  punching- 
bag  and  out  of  its  way,  chest  weights  or  a  Whitely 
exerciser.  In  another  corner  may  stand  a  vaulting- 
buck,  or  low  parallel  bars ;  while  in  each  of  the 
two  remaining  corners  may  be  placed  tables  and 
five  or  six  chairs  for  quiet  table  games.  These 
corner  occupations  will  not  disturb  at  all  the 
game  which  is  going  on  in  the  central  and  largest 
part  of  the  room  ;  while  in  the  corners  themselves 
the  boys  will  only  occasionally  be  interrupted  by 
the  arrival  in  their  midst  of  a  misdirected  ball. 

The  class-rooms  above  the  playground  (always 
supposing  that  you  are  meeting  in  a  school- 
house)  are  not  adapted  for  any  purpose  but  that 
of  the  business  meeting.  Such  class-rooms  will,  of 
course,  need  no  furniture,  unless  you  can  afford  to 
hang  pictures  which  will  meet  with  the  approval 
of  the  school  principal. 

And  now,  in  conclusion,  I  can  only  say  that 
no  one  should  be  discouraged  by  the  apparently 
large  outlay  of  money  which  he  will  be  required  to 
make  (eventually  if  not  at  first),  so  to  equip  his 
club-room  that  his  boys  may  enjoy  every  ad- 
vantage. I  have  said  there  was  an  ideal  of  club 
equipment  toward  which  one  always  worked.     To 


64  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

realize  this  ideal  at  once  would  indeed  be  ex- 
pensive, but  to  do  so  is  not  at  all  necessary. 
Children  are  not  materialists.  Their  power  of 
make-believe  is  so  tremendously  developed  that 
merely  the  semblance  or  symbol  of  the  thing 
desired  suffices.  Last  winter  I  witnessed  a  game 
of  foot-ball  where  the  ball  consisted  of  brown  paper 
rolled  into  the  shape  of  a  foot-ball  and  tied  together 
with  twine.  It  was  as  fiercely  contested  and  as 
happy  a  game  (as  long  as  the  ball  lasted)  as  I 
have  ever  seen.  The  real  drain  in  club  work 
comes,  not  upon  your  purse,  but  upon  your  sym- 
pathies and  judgment.     But  of  that  more  later. 

Now  that  we  have  decided  upon  the  proper 
equipment  for  club-rooms  of  different  kinds,  let 
us  discuss  the  various  means  of  getting  together 
the  boys  who  are  to  enjoy  these  privileges. 


CHAPTER   IV 

STARTING  THE    CLUB.      GETTING    THE    BOYS.      FIRST 
STEPS    TOWARD    ORGANIZATION 

There  are  several  ways  of  gathering  together 
the  boys  for  your  prospective  club.  If  you  are 
going  to  rent  a  small  room  in  an  ordinary  house, 
you  will  have  to  attract  the  boys  yourself,  and  win 
their  confidence,  one  by  one.  Miss  H.  started 
her  club  through  her  acquaintance  with  the  office 
boy  of  the  firm  for  which  she  worked.  Through 
him  she  soon  met  twenty  of  his  friends,  with  all 
of  whom  she  finally  became  on  more  or  less  inti- 
mate terms. 

But,  even  if  one  is  not  in  this  way  thrown 
naturally  into  social  relations  with  the  right  kind 
of  boy,  there  are  plenty  of  other  chances  for 
starting  such  an  acquaintance.  Parks  and  play- 
grounds, and  even  the  streets,  abound  in  op- 
portunities for  making  juvenile  friends.  Some 
years  ago  I  became  much  interested  in  a  little 
fellow  who  begged  for  pennies  on  Madison 
Avenue.  I  never  gave  him  money,  but  the 
demand  for  it  served  as  an  introduction.  After 
that,  although  he  found    that   the    pennies   were 

F  65 


66  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

not  forthcoming,  he  seemed  to  enjoy  my  com- 
panionship. I  made  no  effort  to  ingratiate  my- 
self beyond  asking  questions  and  laughing  at 
his  jokes;  but  his  was  a  genial  soul,  and  that 
very  mild  degree  of  sympathy  appeared  to 
satisfy  him ;  and  as,  that  winter,  our  beats  lay 
for  a  short  distance  up  the  avenue  together,  we 
daily  and  gladly  bore  each  other  company  on 
the  way.  I  have  since  wished  that  I  had  had 
at  the  time  some  social  opportunity  to  offer  him 
—  some  club-room  in  that  part  of  town  to  which 
I  could  have  invited  him  to  come  in  the  evenings 
with  his  friends.  I  am  sure  he  would  have  ac- 
cepted such  an  invitation  eagerly. 

There  is  something  very  pathetic  about  the  so 
easily  bestowed  confidence  of  the  average  street 
boy.  He  places  himself  entirely  at  the  mercy  of 
the  most  casual  acquaintance  who  is  kind  to  him, 
and  the  grown  person  who  tries  can  mould  into  any 
form  —  good  or  bad  —  his  pliable  character. 

If  it  is  necessary,  then,  it  will  be  only  too  easy 
for  most  of  you  to  win  the  boys  for  your  club,  un- 
less, like  most  Anglo-Saxons,  you  make  the  mistake 
of  supposing  that  a  friendless  street  arab  wishes 
his  reserve  respected,  as  you  would  have  your  own, 
by  the  stranger.  But  this  personal  gathering  in  of 
boys  is  only  necessary  if  you  are  going  to  run  a 
club  independently  of  any  institution,  as  in  a  room 


STARTING   THE  CLUB  6/ 

hired  by  yourself  for  the  purpose.  If  your  club  is 
to  meet  in  a  settlement,  the  head  worker  will  get 
you  all  the  boys  you  need  through  the  library, 
penny  bank,  or  by  other  means.  In  the  Uni- 
versity Settlement  of  New  York,  clubs  were 
started  thirteen  years  ago,  and  they  are  now 
so  much  the  fashion  in  the  neighborhood  that 
the  boys  organize  themselves  and  then  apply 
for  a  room  and  an  "adviser."  A  club  of  boys, 
all  of  whom  are  totally  unacquainted  with  club 
usages,  is  not  common  to  find  in  that  part  of 
New  York.  New  clubs  there  now  start  into 
existence  through  a  division  or  rupture  in  some 
old  organization.  The  boys  who  leave  the  parent 
body  will  naturally  have  experience,  and  will  have 
learned  the  club  traditions  of  the  neighborhood. 
The  inexperienced  boys  whom  they  draw  to  them 
come  in  so  slowly  that  they  are  easily  assimilated. 
This  makes  the  work  of  an  adviser  very  simple,  for 
he  has  merely  to  act  as  a  guide  to  a  machine  which 
has  acquired  full  velocity,  —  an  easier  task  than  to 
generate  activity  in  a  hitherto  inanimate  body. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  a  recently  established 
settlement  there  will  be  no  such  demand  as  this 
for  clubs,  but  any  head  worker  can  furnish  you 
with  untrained  human  material ;  and  you,  as  the 
first  club  adviser  in  the  locality,  will  have  the 
satisfaction  of  feeling  that  it  will  be  your  stand- 


68  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

ards  and  ideals,  as  you  express  them  in  this  first 
club,  which  will  become  the  standards  and  ideals 
of  the  many  clubs  which,  growing  directly  out  of 
your  work  by  the  process  of  division  described 
above,  will  eventually  exist  in  the  district. 

If  you  are  so  fortunate  as  to  get  permission 
to  use  a  public  school  building  for  clubs,  an  an- 
nouncement made  by  the  teachers  at  the  morn- 
ing session,  that  the  playgrounds  are  to  be  opened 
that  evening,  will  assemble  for  you  an  appalHng 
crowd.  Indeed,  your  only  difficulty  will  be  to 
limit  the  number  of  boys  who  want  to  get  in. 
This  plan  was  recently  tried  on  Staten  Island,  a 
semi-rural  district,  where  such  a  thing  as  a  club 
had  never  been  heard  of.  As  a  result  of  what 
was  said  by  the  principal  on  the  subject  (in  one 
school  only)  two  hundred  boys  appeared  on  the 
scene  the  opening  night.  As  these  boys  were 
wholly  untrained  in  club  ways,  and,  moreover, 
the  games  provided  were  few  and  the  club  ad- 
visers were  limited  in  numbers  and  experience, 
it  was  found  necessary  to  eliminate  temporarily 
the  least  promising  of  the  boys.  Tickets  (about 
seventy-five  in  number)  ^  were  therefore  issued, 
and  only  the  bearers  of  these  were  admitted  at 

1  Fifty  boys  are  quite  enough  to  begin  with,  unless  you  have  a 
great  many  assistants  or  do  not  care  for  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  boys. 


STARTING   THE  CLUB  69 

the  next  meeting.  A  majority  of  the  125  boys 
who  received  no  tickets  appeared  on  club  nights 
just 'the  same,  however,  and  remained  outside  (al- 
though it  was  then  the  heart  of  winter)  to  watch 
the  games  through  the  windows. 

When  the  difficulties  (which  are  not  very  great 
after  all)  of  populating  your  club-rooms  are  dis- 
posed of,  and  your  crowd  of  boys  has  jostled  its 
way  into  the  schoolhouse,  or  your  little  circle  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  has  gathered  happily  in  your  own 
room  or  the  settlement,  the  first  thing  to  do,  natu- 
rally, is  to  see  that  the  means  of  entertaining  them 
which  you  have  provided  are  sufficient  and  suit- 
able. I  have  already  described  what  seems  to  me 
the  proper  equipment  of  a  room,  but  every  adviser 
will  have  to  prove  its  fitness  through  his  own  ex- 
perience. At  this  first  meeting  notes  may  be  taken 
of  whatever  changes  or  additions  may  be  needed, 
so  that  at  the  second  no  unnecessary  trouble 
may  be  caused  by  idle  boys.  I  must  repeat  that 
games  and  gymnastics  (and  eventually  the  busi- 
ness meeting)  are  the  only  kind  of  amusements 
which  are  appropriate  to  an  organization  whose 
object  is  social  development.  Lectures,  concerts 
or  entertainments  cannot  be  considered  here,  for, 
however  admirable  these  may  be,  they  belong  to  a 
different  department  of  education,  and  one  about 
which  I  am  not  entitled  to  write. 


70  BOYS'  SELF-GO VERmiVG   CLUBS 

Before  you  attempt  to  interest  your  children  in 
any  more  complicated  system  of  educational  play 
than  games  and  gymnastics  —  that  is,  before  you 
try  to  organize  them  into  clubs  —  you  should  be- 
come well  acquainted  with  the  names,  faces,  and 
characters  of  all  the  boys.  I  cannot  too  strongly 
emphasize  the  importance  of  a  fair  degree  of  in- 
timacy with  your  young  charges  just  at  this  critical 
stage  in  your  experiment.  An  experience  I  had 
last  winter  will  effectively  illustrate  my  meaning. 

It  was  at  the  public  school  on  Staten  Island, 
which  has  already  been  referred  to.  I  had  gathered 
together  from  among  a  large  crowd  in  the  play- 
ground a  group  of  about  fifteen  boys  averaging 
fourteen  years  of  age,  and  had  taken  them  up  to  a 
class-room  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  them  into 
a  club.  I  did  not  know  the  faces  of  half  a  dozen, 
and  of  the  names  and  characters  of  all  I  was  totally 
ignorant.  The  first  part  of  the  proceedings  inter- 
ested these  youths  fairly  well,  but  they  were  a 
jovial,  thoughtless  sort  of  crowd,  and  they  soon 
became  very  hilarious  over  the  parliamentary  rules 
which  I  tried  to  explain  to  them.  From  simple 
hilarity  they  soon  resorted  to  ink-bottle  throwing. 
When  it  came  to  that  I  arose  as  majestically  as 
possible  and  told  them  they  had  forfeited  all  right 
to  remain  in  the  schoolhouse  by  their  attempts  to 
destroy  school  property,  etc.,  and  that  they  should 


STARTING   THE  CLUB  71 

leave  the  building  instantly.  As,  before  I  spoke, 
the  boys  had  been  in  hysterics  of  excitement  and 
amusement,  I  had  no  idea  they  would  obey  me. 
They  did,  however,  and  with  sudden  meekness  and 
dejection  left  the  class-room  and  descended  to  the 
playground  on  the  floor  below.  On  the  stairs  I 
had  a  sudden  and  terrible  thought.  /  cotild  Jiot 
remember  viore  than  four  or  five  faces  of  the  twenty 
boys  I  had  dismissed !  In  the  playground  they 
would  mingle  at  once  with  the  other  boys  who 
were  playing  there,  and  I  should  be  unable  to 
say  who  were  and  who  were  not  the  culprits. 
The  same  thought  evidently  struck  the  boys  at 
this  moment,  for,  with  suddenly  recovered  spirits, 
they  rushed  in  among  the  game  players,  where,  of 
course,  they  were  safe.  I  could  only  laugh  and 
admit  that  they  had  got  the  better  of  me.  The 
few  boys  whose  faces  I  knew  went  home.  After 
that  we  had  no  more  ink-bottle  throwing,  but  my 
moral  influence  was  seriously  impaired.  I  am  very 
sure  that  I  could  never  again  have  commanded 
instant  obedience  if  it  had  been  necessary  to  order 
a  club  to  leave  a  class-room.  So  do  not  be  in  a 
hurry  to  start  the  technical  organization  of  the 
clubs.  Every  boy  whose  affection  you  win  in  the 
game  hour  will  help  to  facilitate  the  difficult  work 
of  systematically  organizing  the  clubs.  Then,  too, 
as   I   shall  try  to  explain   in   a   later   chapter,  in 


72  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

the  game  hour  the  boys  may  acquire  the  habit  of 
looking  at  things  from  an  ethical  point  of  view 
which  will  make  more  intelligible  to  them  much 
that  you  will  have  to  explain  to  them  later  on. 

By  the  end  of  a  month  or  two,  let  us  say,  you  will 
know  all  the  faces  of  your  boys,  a  few  of  their 
names,  and  the  more  striking  individualities  among 
them. 

But,  no  matter  how  well  you  may  know  them, 
fifty  boys  whirling  through  the  playground  in  the 
pursuit  of  a  foot-ball  do  not  constitute  a  self-gov- 
erning club ;  nor  does  a  little  circle  of  boy  friends 
happily  entertained  by  you  in  your  own  room ;  but 
the  necessary  elements  of  several  clubs  may  be 
found  in  these  assemblages.  In  the  course  of  time 
you  will  learn  that  almost  any  crowd  of  boys  is 
divided  naturally  into  groups  of  from  ten  to  fifteen, 
who  are  thus  drawn  together  by  community  of  in- 
terests and  similarity  of  age.  Among  the  fifty 
or  more  boys  in  the  school  playground,  for  instance, 
several  such  groups  will  probably  exist.  On  the 
street  they  will  be  known  as  gangs  if  they  do  not 
behave  with  great  decorum. 

Everybody  has  heard  of  gangs.  Bad  as  they 
undoubtedly  are,  they  are  primarily  only  the  ex- 
pression of  a  thoroughly  healthy  social  instinct, 
—  an  instinct  which,  if  properly  guided,  may  be- 
come one  of  the  best  forces  in  a  boy's  life.     The 


STARTING   THE  CLUB  73 

effects  of  social  organization  per  se  upon  the 
individual  are  always  very  marked.  If  colorless, 
insiprid  people  band  themselves  together  for  legiti- 
mate purposes  and  are  helped  by  wise  advice, 
moral  and  intellectual  qualities  will  be  developed 
in  them  whose  existence  would  have  lain  forever 
dormant  in  isolation.  Obversely,  if  fairly  intelli- 
gent and  harmless  boys  organize,  as  in  a  gang, 
upon  wrong  principles,  and  come  only  under 
vicious  influences,  they  will  all  become  of  worse 
character  than  any  one  of  them  could  have  be- 
come alone. 

The  club,  then,  tries  to  take  advantage  of 
instincts  which,  if  neglected,  become  a  source  of 
positive  danger,  but  which,  if  wisely  guided,  be- 
come a  force  for  right  living.  Each  one  of  the 
gangs  or  groups  in  your  playground  will  become 
the  nucleus  of  a  self-governing  club.  Neither 
force  nor  persuasion  will  be  needed  to  start  the 
formation  of  these  gangs  or  groups.  It  will 
only  be  necessary  to  follow  the  lead  given  by 
the  boys  themselves. 

And  now,  you  may  ask,  how  are  you  to  recog- 
nize one  of  these  "  gangs  "  in  the  midst  of  a 
possibly  howling  mob  in  a  playground }  It  is 
true  that  your  task  will  not  be  easy,  for  at  first 
you  will  be  conscious  of  nothing  but  the  crowd. 
But,  after  the  faces  have  become  famihar  to  you, 


74  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

and  you  are  able  to  connect  them  with  certain 
names,  and  a  few  of  the  boys  have  even  begun 
to  assume  individuahty  —  their  characteristics  dis- 
tinguishing them  in  some  manner  from  their 
fellows  —  you  will  notice  that  in  each  game  of 
hockey  or  foot-ball  the  same  set  of  boys  seems  to 
appear  again  and  again.  Perhaps  while  one  of 
these  games  is  in  progress  your  attention  will  be 
attracted  by  some  lonely  figure  standing  apart 
and  wistfully  eying  the  game.  If  you  want  to 
find  out  whether  the  game  players  constitute  a 
gang  or  not,  suggest  to  them  that  they  make  a 
place  for  the  stranger.  If  these  boys  are  them- 
selves free  lances  they  will  acquiesce ;  but,  if  they 
are  bound  together  by  the  slightest  ties  of  organi- 
zation they  will  frown  upon  the  idea  of  so  easily 
admitting  an  outsider  to  their  ranks. 

In  another  way,  too,  you  can  discover  the  ex- 
istence of  an  organization.  Keep  your  eye  on  the 
masterful  boys  and  notice  who  are  their  followers. 
There  is  no  overlooking  these  leaders.  If  not  of 
a  stronger  or  finer  individuality,  they  have  at  least 
more  highly  colored  characteristics  (so  to  speak), 
which  makes  your  discovery  of  them  as  leaders 
almost  coincident  with  your  first  sight  of  them. 
These  boys  may  be  heard  bossing  every  game 
and  assigning  all  positions,  and  it  is  to  them  that 
you  appeal  when  confusion  and  noise  prevent  you 


STARTING    THE   CLUB  75 

from  giving  some  necessary  order  or  explanation. 
They,  in  some  mysterious  fashion,  can  always 
command  attention  to  their  orders.  Make  friends 
with  these  leaders  as  soon  as  possible,  and  win 
their  confidence  and  respect,  for,  when  the  mo- 
ment arrives  in  which  you  wish  to  start  the 
formal  organization  of  your  gangs  and  groups 
into  clubs,  it  will  be  important  to  have  these 
active  characters  on  your  side. 

The  boys,  then,  of  congenial  temperament,  if 
not  already  banded  together  as  a  gang,  will,  never- 
theless, drift  together  for  the  purpose  of  playing 
games  in  your  playground.  For  several  weeks 
after  you  have  become  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  your  boys  your  efforts  should  be  devoted 
to  strengthening  the  organization  of  these  game 
groups.  Each  of  them  should  have  its  regular 
hour  for  playing  certain  games.  For  instance, 
one  group  can  be  allowed  to  play  basket-ball 
from  eight  to  eight-thirty ;  another  set  from  eight- 
thirty  to  nine,  and  so  on;  while  the  use  of  the 
quieter  games  can  be  more  or  less  systematized 
also.  This  strict  use  of  time  is  not  for  the  sake 
of  arbitrary  discipline,  but  to  strengthen  the  idea 
of  unity  in  the  groups,  and  also  to  teach  the  boys 
that  the  privileges  of  the  playground  must  be 
divided  equally  and  without  favor.  Each  boy 
should  take  and  keep  a  certain  position  in  these 


76  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

games,  and  a  spirit  of  friendly  rivalry  should  be 
encouraged  between  the  game  groups,  —  in  the 
playing  of  match  games,  for  instance,  —  which  will 
help  to  develop  an  esprit  de  corps. 

At  last,  after  several  weeks  certainly,  perhaps 
after  months,  you  will  judge  that  the  critical  mo- 
ment has  come  for  taking  the  first  steps  toward 
making  your  group  or  gang  a  club.  Let  us  say 
that  you  have  opened  a  public  school  on  Wednes- 
day evenings,  and  that  you  have  gathered  about 
fifty  attendants.  You  have  a  couple  of  large  in- 
door playgrounds,  in  which  active  games  may  be 
played,  while  in  the  corners  of  both  rooms  are 
gymnastic  apparatus  and  tables  for  quiet  games. 
Three  friends  of  about  your  own  age  have  volun- 
teered to  help  you,  and  they  are  now  engaged  in 
supervising  the  various  games  which  are  in  prog- 
ress in  the  playground.  A  class-room  upstairs  is 
lighted  and  ready  for  your  first  club-meeting. 

Which  one  of  all  the  gangs  or  game  groups 
will  you  choose  for  your  experiment  in  club- 
making  }  Perhaps  your  whole  future  success  as 
a  club  adviser  will  depend  upon  this  choice. 
Since  the  opening  of  the  school  your  attention 
has  been  attracted  most  by  one  particular 
group.  The  boys  in  this  (their  ages  will  range 
from  twelve  to  fourteen)  have  evinced  unusually 
keen   interest   in    the    games    you    have   showed 


STARTING   THE  CLUB  yj 

them,  and  they  appear  to  be  more  intimate 
with  one  another — more  homogeneous  —  than 
the  boys  of  any  other  group.  There  are  among 
them,  too,  one  or  two  boys  of  strong  character, 
whose  influence  over  their  companions  for  good  or 
bad  you  feel  would  be  very  potent.  This  group 
has  been  known  by  the  district  in  which  most 
of  its  members  live  —  the  Stanton  Street  Gang, 
let  us  say.  While  none  of  these  boys  are  of 
really  ingrained  criminal  character,  many  of  them 
have,  nevertheless,  acquired  criminal  habits,  such 
as  occasional  petty  thefts,  raids  on  unpopular 
characters  in  the  neighborhood,  and  frequent  out- 
breaks of  temper  which  result  in  more  or  less 
bloody  fights.  Their  chief  virtue  at  present  is 
their  keenness.  See  how  intensely  they  care  who 
wins  the  game  or  who  becomes  captain  of  the 
team.  See  how  absorbed  they  are  in  their  game. 
They  have  played  an  hour  already,  a  careful  game, 
paying  strict  attention  to  complicated  rules,  new 
to  most  of  them,  and  yet  they  can  still  con- 
centrate their  minds  upon  it  and  howl  with  rage 
and  disappointment  when  you  call  them  off  to 
give  the  others  a  chance. 

Such  are  the  characteristics  of  the  boys  you 
wisely  choose  to  initiate  into  the  mysteries  of  the 
first  club.  Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  choosing 
the  most  amiable  and  colorless  boys.     Beware  of 


78  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

the  boys  who,  after  five  minutes  of  a  game,  throw 
ball  or  checkers  around  the  room ;  who  giggle 
incessantly  and  causelessly ;  and  who  have  so  few 
and  such  lukewarm  opinions  that  they  never  in- 
dulge in  angry  words  or  fisticuffs.  Such  boys  are 
usually  lacking  in  both  heart  and  intellect.  Choose 
always  the  group  which  has  the  most  pronounced 
characteristics,  the  most  ardent  passions,  even  if 
they  seem  to  you  to  be  bad  ones,  for  with  such 
temperaments  you  will  be  likely  to  find  active 
minds  and  strong  affections,  and  without  both 
of  these  characteristics  in  its  members  a  self-gov- 
erning club  could  not,  as  such,  exist. 

When  you  have  at  last  made  your  choice  of 
groups  —  the  Stanton  Street  Gang  it  is,  I  believe 
— you  call  aside  the  leader.  Mosey  Fidelsky,  and 
tell  him  to  bring  his  crowd  upstairs.  If  you  have 
spoken  the  right  words  and  dropped  the  right 
hints  during  the  last  three  or  four  weeks,  the  boys 
will  have  been  longing  for  this  moment,  and,  filled 
with  curiosity,  they  will  leave  their  games  unfinished 
and  will  hurry  up  to  the  class-room.  The  boys  of 
the  Stanton  Street  Gang  are  always  ready  for  new 
ideas  and  experiences,  and  now,  filled  with  eager 
anticipation,  they  take  their  seats,  turning  round 
eyes  and  eager  faces  toward  you.  Mosey,  feeling 
a  sense  of  responsibility  for  the  behavior  of  his 
satellites,  places  himself  near  the  front  where  he 


STARTING   THE  CLUB  79 

can  turn  and  give  them  a  masterful  scowl  if  they 
show  signs  of  disgracing  the  occasion.  Mosey 
is  your  friend  by  this  time.  At  least,  I  hope  he  is, 
for  your  lot  will  be  a  hard  one  if  he  is  not. 

From  your  place  at  the  desk  you  now  rap  for 
attention  and  then  make  something  like  the  fol- 
lowing little  speech  :  — 

"  In  the  United  States  every  sane  man  of 
twenty-one,  who  is  unconvicted  of  crime,  has  the 
great  privilege  of  voting  for  the  officers  who  shall 
administer  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  The  hum- 
blest citizen  thus  takes  part  in  the  government  of 
a  country  of  seventy-five  million  inhabitants.  By 
his  vote  this  citizen  may  bring  war  upon  his  coun- 
try or,  in  a  city,  may  put  in  office  men  who  will 
steal  the  pubHc  money  or  who  will  give  the  people 
bad  schools  and  dirty  streets.  No  one,  untrained 
and  unprepared,  can  safely  be  intrusted  with  such 
a  power.  Now,  to  train  boys  to  become  wise  and 
careful  voters,  this  club  is  organized  ;  for  while  a 
club's  government  may  seem  very  small  and  unim- 
portant compared  to  the  government  of  a  nation, 
it  is  run  on  the  same  principles  as  that  of  a  great 
republic,  and,  consequently,  the  lessons  learned 
in  the  club  will  help  the  boys  to  become  wiser 
voters  when  their  ballots  count  in  deciding  great 
national  or  municipal  issues." 

Then  you  may  ask  them  if  they  know  what  is 


8o  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

the  difference  between  a  monarchy  and  a  republic. 
Although  they  may  make  out  an  unnecessarily 
bad  case  for  the  monarchies,  their  understanding 
of  the  differences  will  probably  be  sufficiently 
correct  to  illuminate  your  point. 

"  Now,"  you  may  continue,  "  a  club  may  be 
like  a  monarchy  or  it  may  be  like  a  republic. 
If  a  club  allows  some  strong  boy  or  man  to 
come  in  and  become  a  boss  whom  all  obey  out 
of  weakness,  laziness,  or  for  gain,  then  a  club  is 
like  a  monarchy,  and  its  members  will  never  fit 
themselves  to  become  intelligent  citizens  of  a 
republic  where  every  man  can  have  his  say 
about  the  government." 

This  more  picturesque  than  accurate  descrip- 
tion of  a  monarchy  will  probably  incite  a  frantic 
demand  for  an  elected  leader,  and  this  will  mark 
the  first  step  in  advance  taken  by  the  Stanton 
Street  Gang.  It  may  well  be  that  the  elected 
leader  will  manage  the  club  with  no  greater 
virtue  or  wisdom  than  poor  Mosey  Fidelsky 
guided  his  once  faithful  subjects  through  their 
adventures,  but  the  gain  for  the  boys  will  be  in 
their  changed  point  of  view  and  their  added  sense 
of  responsibility.  Immediately  before  electing  a 
president  you  must  explain  how  the  people  only, 
in  a  republic  or  a  club,  are  responsible  for  the 
kind  of  government  they  have.     If   the  govern- 


STARTING   THE  CLUB  8 1 

merit  is  bad,  it  is  because  the  deciding  majority 
are  lazy,  stupid,  or  vicious.  Tlie  virtuous  and 
intelligent  minority  suffer,  and  rightly,  because 
they  have  allowed  their  fellow-citizens  to  remain 
ignorant  or  bad.  In  a  republic  or  a  club  the 
government  is  always  good  enough  for  the 
people  who  choose  it. 

Then  you  must  explain  that  while  bad  popular 
government  may  cause  a  great  deal  of  unhappi- 
ness,  it  is  better  for  the  people  than  good 
monarchical  government,  because,  where  govern- 
ment is  popular  and  mistakes  are  made,  the  peo- 
ple must  stop  and  reason  why  things  are  going 
wrong,  because  the  people  only  have  the  power 
to  set  things  right.  That  makes  them  think,  and 
argue,  and  study,  which  develops  their  minds 
and  reasoning  powers.  They  become  self-reliant, 
also,  for,  knowing  that  they  have  all  the  power, 
and  that  there  is  no  one  to  help  them,  they 
realize  that  they  must  stand  on  their  own  feet, 
and  that  if  they  make  mistakes  they  must  take 
the  consequences  bravely  and  blame  no  ore  but 
themselves. 

All  this  applies  equally  to  the  government  of 
a  club.  If  you,  the  adviser,  were  to  run  the  club 
as  an  autocrat,  you  may  say,  because  of  your 
years  and  vast  experience  in  running  clubs,  you 
could    undoubtedly   make    every  one  happy,   and 


82  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

the  club  would  appear  to  be  very  successful  be- 
cause everything  would  run  so  smoothly.  But, 
you  say,  how  could  the  boys  themselves  learn 
wisdom  by  making  laws  if  they  were  simply  to 
obey  blindly  the  laws  made  by  their  adviser  ? 
How  could  they  learn  self-reliance  and  a  sense 
of  responsibility  if  they  leaned  and  depended  on 
their  adviser  instead  of  themselves  ? 

By  this  time  you  will  probably  feel  somewhat 
like  a  traitor  to  poor  Mosey.  However,  he  may 
not  recognize  himself  as  having  been  anything  so 
important  as  the  kind  of  boss  you  have  been 
describing,  and  so  will  not  know  that  you  have  been 
talking  against  him.  But  whether  he  understands 
or  not,  as  a  boss,  he  must  go.  The  chances  are 
that  at  this  first  election,  when  a  strong  reaction  is 
taking  place  in  favor  of  independence,  republics, 
etc.,  Mosey  will  fail  of  an  election  by  his  once 
faithful  followers.  His  name  is  called,  however, 
when  you  ask  for  nominations  for  president  of  the 
club.  Two  other  boys  are  also  named  and  seconded 
for  the  office,  and  you  then  request  some  boy  near 
you  to  escort  the  three  candidates  into  the  hall, 
where  the  door  is  closed  upon  them. 

I  do  not  believe  the  boys  will  have  much  to  say 
about  the  candidates.  At  this  stage  of  their  devel- 
opment they  are  probably  not  accustomed  to  put- 
ting their  thoughts  into  words,  and,  indeed,  these 


STARTING   THE  CLUB  83 

thoughts  have  not  run  in  the  line  of  critical 
analysis  of  suitable  characteristics  for  presidents. 
Then,  too-,  they  are  shy,  and  inclined  to  giggle  at 
each  other's  bashful  efforts  to  make  speeches. 
Note  the  embarrassment  of  the  inexperienced 
orators  and  remember  it  for  your  encouragement 
a  year  hence  when,  if  you  manage  rightly,  your 
boys  should  be  able  to  say  intelligibly,  if  not  elo- 
quently, all  that  they  think  and  feel.  And  not 
only  this,  but  they  should  think  and  feel  a  great 
deal  more  than  they  do  now ;  for  public  speaking 
stimulates  thoughts  and  convictions.  By  looking 
intensely  appreciative  of  what  each  halting  speaker 
tries  to  say,  you  will  encourage  him  to  do  his  best 
and  will  inspire  him  to  do  himself  greater  credit 
upon  another  occasion. 

The  names  of  the  candidates  (whose  ears  are 
now  undoubtedly  on  the  keyhole)  are,  we  may 
say.  Mosey,  Sam  and  Harry.  These  names  you 
will  ask  some  boy  to  write  on  a  blackboard  or  a 
slip  of  paper.  You  will  then  ask  the  boys  to  rise 
as  you  call  the  name  of  the  candidate  they  wish  to 
vote  for,  each  boy  to  vote  in  this  way  only  once. 
As  a  result  of  this  canvass  you  find  that  Mosey 
receives  three  votes  (this  is  a  fickle  world),  Harry 
seven  and  Sam  six.  Mosey's  name  is  then  dropped 
from  the  list,  and  his  faithful  adherents  are  told  to 
express  their  preference  for  either  Sam  or  Harry. 


84  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

The  rising  vote  is  then  called  for  again,  with  the 
result  that  Harry  is  elected  by  nine  votes  against 
seven  received  by  Sam.  The  sergeant-at-arms 
{pro  tern.)  then  calls  in  the  candidates,  and  you 
announce  the  club's  choice. 

It  may  be  that  the  election  of  a  president  will 
be  sufficient  business  for  the  first  meeting ;  but  if 
the  interest  and  attention  of  the  boys  do  not  seem 
to  have  flagged,  it  will  be  best  to  proceed  with  the 
election  of  a  full  complement  of  officers,  viz.,  vice- 
president,  secretary,  treasurer  and  sergeant-at- 
arms.  This  will  surely  be  enough  for  the  first 
meeting,  for  you  do  not  want  to  run  the  chance 
of  boring  the  boys  or  of  giving  them  too  many 
things  to  think  about.  If  all  the  officers  are 
elected,  however,  the  secretary  should  be  in- 
structed to  write  down  the  occurrences  of  the 
meeting  and  the  treasurer  to  make  a  list  of  the 
members  of  the  club. 

On  the  following  Wednesday  evening  at  nine 
o'clock,  let  us  say,  you  all  repair  again  to  your 
class-room.  The  newly  elected  president  takes 
his  place  behind  the  desk  with  a  funny  expression 
on  his  face  and  in  his  whole  bearing  of  pride  and 
helplessness.  The  secretary  will  sit  at  his  right 
hand  and  the  treasurer  at  his  left.  You  will  be 
seated  near  enough  the  president  to  coach  him  in 
parliamentary   procedure.      You   will    have    pre- 


STARTING   THE  CLUB  8$ 

pared  for  him  a  slip  of  paper  bearing  the  "  order 
of  business  "  for  the  day.     (See  page  190.) 

When  the  president  comes  to  the  point  of  ask- 
ing for  "new  business,"  and  if  none  of  the  boys 
wish  to  speak,  you  must  ask  for  the  floor.  This 
should  be  done  with  the  utmost  gravity,  so  that 
the  boys  may  be  impressed  from  the  beginning 
with  the  necessity  for  talking  only  when  permission 
is  given  to  do  so.  Then  you  ask  the  company  if 
they  intend  to  keep  the  old  name  of  Stanton  Street 
Gang  for  their  reorganized  body.  The  chances 
are  there  will  be  a  loud  demand  for  a  new  name. 
As  the  boys  make  suggestions  for  the  new  name 
(which  they  must  not  do  until  they  are  given  the 
floor  each  in  turn)  the  secretary  will  write  them 
down  on  a  shp  of  paper.  Three  or  four  of  these 
suggestions  will  be  sensible,  and  in  voting  for  the 
favorite  you  can  manage  as  you  did  when  the 
president  was  elected,  that  is  by  voting  once  for 
each  suggested  name,  then  ehminating  the  one  or 
two  receiving  the  lowest  number  of  votes,  and 
finally  calling  for  a  general  vote  for  the  surviving 
two. 

The  name  chosen  by  your  boys  will  be  the 
"  Young  Citizens'  Social  Circle."  If  you  analyze 
this  name  you  will  see  that  it  is  not  so  simple  as  it 
appears.  The  "Young  Citizens  "  part  of  the  title 
is  an  echo  of  the  enthusiasm  which  you  aroused  by 


86  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERN/ JVC    CLUBS 

your  talk  on  republics,  government  and  such 
things  on  the  previous  Wednesday,  and  the  "  Social 
Circle  "  is  added  as  a  loophole  of  escape  to  lighter 
pleasures  should  you  keep  the  members  too  strictly 
to  the  citizen  business. 

After  this  choice  has  been  made,  I  am  sure  you 
will  notice  an  added  dignity  and  self-respect  in  the 
bearings  of  the  members.  Indeed,  from  this  mo- 
ment you  may  consider  that  the  "  club "  is  fairly 
launched.  With  a  name  and  a  full  complement 
of  officers  it  will  be  ready  to  meet  and  conquer  all 
difficulties  which  confront  it. 


CHAPTER  V 

DEVELOPMENT    OF    A    CONSTITUTION 

For  a  little  while  your  club  will  run  along 
smoothly  with  no  laws  but  those  relating  to  its 
name,  the  number  and  duties  of  its  officers  and 
its  place  and  hours  of  meeting.  Of  these  simple 
laws  there  will  be  no  written  records  beyond  those 
which  were  entered  in  the  minutes  at  the  time  the 
laws  were  passed.  Soon,  however,  it  will  be  found 
that  yet  other  laws  are  required  to  facilitate  the 
operation  of  club  business.  Some  one  asks.  Why 
have  we  a  treasurer  and  no  treasury  ?  The  question 
of  dues  is  then  taken  up,  discussed  and  finally 
settled.  Another  member  wonders  what  is  the 
reason  for  the  club's  existence.  A  discussion  of 
"  objects  "  follows.  In  the  course  of  time  outsiders 
hear  of  the  club  and  desire  to  become  members. 
That  opens  the  question,  —  years  may  be  required 
to  settle  it  permanently,  —  What  kinds  of  boys  are 
desirable  as  members  of  the  club  .'* 

Although  these  laws  are  all  duly  recorded  in  the 
minutes,  it  involves  time  and  trouble  to  find  them 

87 


88  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

there  among  so  many  irrelevant  matters.  There- 
fore, a  separate  book  is  purchased,  and  everything 
suggesting  a  permanent  law  is  entered  on  its  pages. 
In  order  further  to  facilitate  the  quick  reference  to 
laws,  they  are  arranged  in  groups  and  classified. 
Thus  begins  the  making  of  a  constitution. 

After  many  years  of  discussion  and  experiment 
the  Young  Potomac  Club  adopted  the  constitution 
which  is  quoted  below.  It  has  served  as  a  model 
for  the  constitution  of  nearly  every  club  on  the 
lower  East  Side  of  New  York. 


CONSTITUTION  OF   THE  YOUNG   POTOMAC 
CLUB 

Organized   in   the   Neighborhood  Guild   (University  Settlement), 
26  Delancey  Street,  in  the  year  1893 

Article   I 

NAME 

This  club  shall  be  known  as  the  Young  Potomac 
Club,  commemorating  the  services  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac. 

Article   II 

OBJECTS 

The  objects  of  this  club  shall  be,  to  promote  a  feeling 
of  brotherhood  among  its  members,  to  teach  them  the 
principles  of  honest  and  intelligent  self-government 
and  to  encourage  good  citizenship  among  them. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  A   CONSTITUTION-      89 


Article   III 

MEETINGS 

Meetings  shall  be  held  twice  a  week  in  the  afternoon 
at  the  Guild. 

Article   IV 

MEMBERS 

Section  i.  There  shall  be  two  kinds  of  members, 
active  and  honorary. 

Section  2.  Active  membership  is  open  to  boys  of 
good  character,  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  fifteen, 
if  not  shorter  than  four  and  a  half  feet. 

Section  3.  Active  members  shall  be  proposed  on  the 
first  meeting  of  the  month.  Their  characters  shall  then 
be  investigated  by  the  Investigating  Committee.  On 
the  second  meeting  of  the  month  this  committee  shall 
make  its  report,  after  which  the  candidates  shall  be 
voted  for. 

Section  4.  No  boy  who  is  reported  by  the  Investi- 
gating Committee  to  be  a  gambler,  thief  or  cigarette 
smoker,  or  who  is  known  to  be  such  by  two  members 
in  good  standing,  shall  be  eligible  for  membership. 

Section  5.  If  a  candidate  fills  the  requirements  men- 
tioned in  Sections  2  and  4  of  this  article,  a  member  may 
not  vote  against  him  unless  he  can  give  some  reason 
which  shall  be  deemed  sufficient  by  the  members  of  the 
club. 

Section  6.  Members  of  the  Order  Club  [a  club  of 
smaller  boys  which  met  in  an  adjoining  room]  who  grad- 
uate in  good  standing,  and  who  can  bring  a  letter  of 


90  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

recommendation  from  their  Adviser,  shall  be  admitted 
as  members  of  this  club  without  vote  or  question. 

Section  7.  There  shall  never  be  more  than  twenty-five 
active  members  in  this  club. 

Section  8.  Honorary  members  may  be  proposed  and 
voted  for  at  any  time  after  the  consent  of  the  Adviser 
has  been  privately  obtained. 

Section  9.  Three  blackballs  shall  exclude  a  candidate 
for  active  or  honorary  membership. 

Article  V 

OFFICERS 

Section  i.  The  officers  of  this  club  shall  be  an  Ad- 
viser, a  President,  Vice-President,  Secretary,  Treasurer 
and  Sergeant-at-Arms. 

Section  2.  The  Adviser  is  responsible  to  the  Guild 
for  the  success  of  her  club,  the  safety  of  its  members 
and  of  the  Guild  property.  She  therefore  has  the 
power  to  veto  any  measure  passed  by  the  club,  to 
order  an  immediate  adjournment  or  to  send  home 
any  boy  for  the  day.  The  Adviser  controls  the  club's 
finances.  No  money  can  be  spent  without  her  author- 
ity. The  Adviser  arranges  for  days  and  hours  of  club 
session.  All  public  entertainments  given  by  the  club 
must  first  be  approved  by  the  Adviser. 

Section  3.  The  President  presides  at  the  business 
meetings,  and  has  the  power  to  dismiss,  for  cause,  any 
boy  for  the  day.  (That  is,  during  the  business  meet- 
ing.) He  appoints  all  committees  and  may  dissolve  the 
same.  He  must  be  ready  to  represent  the  club  when 
necessary. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  A    CONSTITUTION- 


91 


Section  4.  The  Vice-President  presides  during  the 
absence  of  the  President.  He  takes  the  place  of  that 
officer  if  he  resigns  or  is  removed. 

Section  5.  The  Secretary  has  charge  of  all  the  cor- 
respondence and  reports  of  the  club,  and  reads  the 
same  when  called  for.  He  writes  and  reads  the  min- 
utes of  each  meeting. 

Section  6.  The  Treasurer  calls  the  roll,  collects  the 
dues,  keeps  charge  of  the  same  and  sends  in  a  monthly 
financial  statement  to  the  Secretary. 

Section  7.  The  Sergeant-at-Arms  arranges  for  every- 
thing at  the  business  meeting,  brings  up  chairs  for  vis- 
itors, attends  the  door,  carries  messages  for  officers  and 
members  and  sees  that  the  orders  of  the  President  are 
executed. 

Section  8.  All  officers  (excepting  the  Adviser)  hold 
office  for  four  months.  On  the  last  meeting  of  the 
fourth  month  new  officers  are  nominated,  and  at  the 
next  meeting  (the  first  of  the  following  month)  their 
names  are  voted  upon. 

Section  9.  The  place  of  any  officer  who  resigns  or  is 
removed  is  filled  at  once,  but  the  term  of  the  newly 
elected  officer  ends  when  that  of  his  predecessor  would 
have  ended. 

Section  10.  No  one  can  hold  office  for  more  than  two 
consecutive  terms  (this,  of  course,  does  not  apply  to  the 
Adviser),  or  more  than  three  terms  altogether. 

Article  VI 

MISDEMEANORS,  ETC. 

Section  i.  Any  member  who  steals,  gambles,  smokes 
or  swears  inside  or  outside  the  club  is  guilty  of  a  mis- 
demeanor. 


92  BOVS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

Section  2.  Should  the  boy  who  is  accused  of  a  mis- 
demeanor be  absent  from  the  meeting  when  the  charge 
is  brought  against  him,  he  shall  at  once  be  notified,  and 
if,  at  the  following  meeting,  he  neither  appears  in  person 
nor  sends  a  satisfactory  excuse,  the  trial  shall  proceed 
without  him. 

Section  3.  No  charge  against  a  boy  shall  be  consid- 
ered unless  two  members  in  good  standing  can  testify  to 
having  seen  the  accused  committing  the  misdemeanor 
with  which  he  is  charged.  A  confession  from  the  ac- 
cused shall  be  equivalent  to  the  testimony  of  two 
witnesses. 

Section  4.  If  an  officer  appears  to  fail  in  the  perform- 
ance of  his  duties,  any  member  may  make  a  motion  to 
remove  him  from  his  office. 

Article  VII 

EXPULSION,  SUSPENSION,  ETC. 

Section  i .  Any  boy  proved  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor 
shall  be  expelled  or  suspended,  according  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  club. 

Section  2.  A  three-quarter  vote  is  necessary  to  expel 
a  member. 

Section  3.  A  boy  who  has  been  expelled  cannot  apply 
again  for  membership  until  the  following  year. 

Section  4.  Any  boy  who  has  been  suspended  for  a 
certain  time  shall,  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  be 
taken  back  into  the  club  without  formality,  on  condition 
of  his  good  behavior  during  his  suspension. 

Section  5.  An  officer  who  has  been  convicted  of  neg- 
lect of  duty  shall  be  removed  from  his  office  and  may 
not  hold  any  office  again  until  the  following  year. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  A    CONSTITUTION      93 

Section  6.  If  an  officer  fails  in  the  performance  of  any 
of  the  duties  prescribed  for  him  in  Article  V,  he  shall 
forfeit  his  office  but  not  his  membership. 

Article  VIII 

DROPPING 

Section  i.  A  member  shall  be  dropped  for  the  follow- 
ing reasons :  For  non-payment  of  three  weeks'  dues 
without  satisfactory  excuse  (an  excuse  may  be  made  to 
the  Adviser  privately,  and  if  found  sufficient  by  her  will 
be  accepted  by  the  club)  ;  and  for  non-attendance  at 
meetings  during  three  weeks  without  an  excuse  satisfac- 
tory to  the  club. 

Sectiofi  2.  A  member  who  is  dropped  for  either  of 
these  reasons  may,  upon  payment  of  the  debt  for  dues 
recorded  against  his  name  at  the  time  of  dropping, 
apply  at  any  time  for  admission,  and  he  shall  be  voted 
for  at  the  usual  time  with  the  other  candidates. 

Section  3.  No  boy  may  be  elected  as  a  member,  or  rc' 
instated  as  a  member,  who  owes  money  to  the  club. 

Article  IX 

LEAVE    OF    ABSENCE 

Section  i .  The  President  may  grant  to  any  one  a  leave 
of  absence  (subject  to  the  approval  of  the  club)  for  a 
period  not  exceeding  four  months. 

Sectiofi  2.  A  member  wishing  to  return  before  his 
leave  of  absence  is  over'  may  do  so  without  formality. 

Section  3.  A  member,  away  from  the  club  on  a  leave 
of  absence,  is  not  required  to  pay  dues. 

Section  4.    No  member  who  has  received  a  leave  of 


94  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

absence,  and  who  owes  at  the  time  more  than  eight 
cents,  can  return  unless  he  pays  his  debt  or  can  give  a 
satisfactory  excuse. 

Article  X 

RESIGNATIONS 

Section  i.  No  one  can  resign  until  all  his  debts  are 
paid. 

Section  2.  Any  member  whose  resignation  has  been 
regularly  accepted  may  apply  again  at  any  time  for 
readmission  to  membership. 

Article  XI 

CONSTITUTION,  AMENDMENTS,  ETC. 

Section  i.  This  constitution  shall  be  read  to  the  as- 
sembled club  soon  after  the  election  of  new  members 
once  a  month. 

Section  2.  The  constitution  may  at  no  time  be  "  laid 
aside." 

Section  3.  Amendments  may  be  made  at  any  time 
and  shall  be  recorded  in  the  minutes,  but  such  amend- 
ments shall  take  effect  only  from  the  first  week  in  every 
month. 

Section  4.  A  three-quarter  vote  is  necessary  to  effect 
an  amendment. 

Article  XII 

DUES 

Section  1 .  The  dues  of  this  club  shall  be  three  cents 
weekly. 

Section  2.    See  Sections  i  and  2  of  Article  VIII. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  A   CONSTITUTION      95 

Sectioji  3.  Two-thirds  of  all  the  dues  collected  shall 
be  given  to  the  Guild  for  rent  of  room. 

Section  4.  The  remaining  sum  may  be  spent  in  any 
way  approved  by  three-fourths  of  the  members  present, 
unless  vetoed  by  the  Adviser. 


"  Constitutions  are  not  made  but  grow."  One's 
first  impression  is  apt  to  be  that  the  choice  of  laws 
depends  only  upon  taste  or  convenience,  and  that, 
therefore,  since  I  have  testified  to  the  "workabil- 
ity "  of  the  Young  Potomac  Club's  constitution  it 
might  as  well  be  used  at  once,  just  as  it  stands,  in 
any  new  club.  Now,  while  no  visible  bad  results 
would  follow  if  this  plan  were  to  be  adopted,  the 
best  opportunity  for  the  development  of  intellect 
would  be  thrown  away.  It  is  not  the  perfect  con- 
stitution itself,  but  the  years  of  discussion  and  ex- 
perience, out  of  which  the  perfect  constitution 
grows,  that  develop  the  boys'  mental  and  moral 
faculties.  All  the  good  that  comes  from  club  life 
must  come  slowly  and  gradually  —  so  gradually 
that  all  the  minutest  details  of  the  machinery  of 
government  are  known  and  understood  by  the 
boys,  and,  one  by  one,  acknowledged  by  them  to 
be  necessary.  First,  let  them  express  their  own 
crude  ideas  on  the  subject  of  law-making.  In  the 
beginning  these  laws  will  be  either  brutal  or  senti- 
mentally weak,  but  from  them  will  gradually  evolve 


96  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

a  constitution  written  in  correct  form  and  contain- 
ing real  truth  and  justice. 

Figuratively  speaking,  and  stretching  the  idea  a 
little  to  make  the  meaning  clear,  the  boys  have, 
broadly  in  the  two  hours  of  the  club's  session, 
and  in  detail  in  the  three  years  of  club  life  and 
growth,  lived  through  all  the  stages  of  man's  social 
development,  from  his  simplest  attempts  at  law- 
making, thousands  of  years  ago,  to  the  complex 
machinery  by  which  we  are  governed  to-day.  By 
understanding  the  necessity  for  each  law  as  it  is 
made,  the  boys  become  willing  lawkeepers ;  they 
become  intelligent  ones  also,  for  they  see  that  con- 
stant watchfulness  and  thoughtf ulness  are  necessary 
to  keep  those  laws  up  to  the  ever  growing  and 
changing  requirements  of  humanity. 

As  I  have  said,  the  boys  will  learn  the  meaning  — 
the  philosophy —  of  their  laws  gradually  and  by 
experience,  but  the  adviser  must  know  all  this  be- 
fore he  even  starts  a  club.  Therefore,  let  us  take 
up  the  dozen  or  more  most  important  articles  in 
the  constitution  and  analyze  their  meaning. 


CHAPTER  VI 


ANALYSIS    OF    THE    CONSTITUTION 


Article  I.     "  The  name  of  this  club  shall  be- 


A  name  may  become  a  serious  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  the  progress  and  pleasure  of  a  club.  I 
once  knew  some  boys  who  banded  themselves  to- 
gether as  the  "  Shakespeare  Literary  Circle,"  be- 
cause they  thought  this  public  avowal  of  a  love 
of  culture  would  bring  them  credit  and  respect  in 
the  neighborhood.  About  three  months  later  this 
name  was  changed.  I  asked  a  member  why  this 
had  been  done,  and  he  said,  "What  fun  could  you 
have  with  a  name  like  that  ?"  It  appeared  that 
they  had  had  a  conscientious  president  who  kept 
them  strictly  to  reciting  poems  and  reading  essays 
as  long  as  they  were  the  Shakespeare  Literary 
Circle.  So  they  became  "  The  Sunrise  Pleasure 
Club." 

"Well !  "  I  exclaimed,  "I  should  think  you  could 
do  anything  with  such  a  name  as  that." 

"We  can,"  the  boy  answered,  turning  hand- 
springs in  joyous  remembrance  of  the  changed 
programme  of  the  club. 

H  97 


98  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

Among  Hebrew  boys  there  is  a  strong  tendency 
to  hypocrisy  in  the  choice  of  names  and  objects 
for  their  clubs.  Learning  and  culture  command 
public  admiration ;  therefore  they  wish  it  to  appear 
that  their  club  is  an  organization  devoted  to  the 
development  of  intellect.  Such  a  club  has  a  more 
genteel  standing  than  a  mere  athletic  or  pleasure 
club.  But  while  desiring  all  the  respect  and  ad- 
miration due  to  a  body  of  students,  few  of  the  boys 
are  willing  to  spend  all  their  club  hours  in  serious 
work.  Therefore,  unless  a  Shakespeare  Literary 
Circle  has  a  strong  and  consistent  president  or  ad- 
viser, it  will  gradually  assume  the  character  of  any 
athletic  or  social  club,  while  receiving  the  credit 
meted  out  to  a  "  literary  circle." 

It  may  seem  foolish  to  take  seriously  hypocrisy 
that  is  practised  on  so  small  a  scale,  and  yet  one 
must  take  seriously  any  situation  in  which  a  prin- 
ciple is  involved.  Everything  that  happens  in  the 
club  is  on  a  small  scale  —  some  things  scarcely 
more  than  symbolic.  But  the  fact  that  they  are 
small  brings  them  within  the  grasp  of  boyish 
minds.  A  principle  once  learned  may  be  applied 
not  only  in  small  cases  but,  as  the  intellect  de- 
velops, in  important  ones  also. 

Article  II.  "  The  objects  of  this  club  shall  be,  to 
promote  a  feeling  of  brotherhood  among  its  members, 
to  teach  them  the  principles  of  honest,  intellis^ent  self- 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION        99 

government  and  to  encourage  good  citizenship  among 
them." 

As  you  will  probably  notice,  the  avowed  objects 
of  the  Young  Potomac  Club  appear  rather  serious 
and  purposeful  for  boys  of  only  twelve  and  four- 
teen. I  have  a  strong  suspicion  that  Article  II 
was  worded  in  this  rather  ponderous  way  chiefly 
to  impress  outsiders,  for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in- 
timate friends  found  wholesome  frivolity  to  be  a 
striking  characteristic  of  the  club.  Other  more 
honest  (or,  shall  we  say,  more  simple-minded .'') 
clubs  frequently  choose  to  add  to  the  lines  regard- 
ing their  purpose  to  become  wise  and  intelligent 
citizens  the  words,  "and  have  a  good  time."  In 
these  cases  many  people  were  shocked  that  we 
allowed  so  frankly  frivolous  an  avowal.  Indeed, 
most  of  our  friends  have  disapproved  of  all  good 
times  that  were  not  merely  incidental  to  a  con- 
scious attempt  at  self-improvement,  and  self-im- 
provement, these  people  believed,  could  only  be 
accomplished  by  more  or  less  bookish  study  or 
actual  instruction.  In  the  Staten  Island  public 
school  playground,  one  evening  last  winter,  an 
exciting  game  of  basket-ball  was  in  progress.  In 
addition  to  the  players  in  the  contest  a  number  of 
boys  stood  along  the  walls  of  the  room,  watching 
the  game  with  apparent  delight  and  applauding 
heartily  every  skilful  feat.      A  lady  gazed   sadly 


lOO  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

at  these  onlookers  for  a  moment,  and  then  said:  "  I 
wish  we  might  be  teaching  them  something  useful. 
Here  they  are  jtist  standing  around  arnusifig  them- 
selves.'' When  I  had  charge  of  the  first  clubs  in 
the  two  New  York  public  schools  of  which  I  have 
spoken,  I  received  perhaps  a  dozen  letters  from 
people  who  begged  to  be  allowed  to  "  teach  "  the 
boys  something.  A  patriotic  society  wanted  to 
furnish  us  with  text-books  on  patriotism,  which  the 
boys  were  to  study,  and  from  which  they  were  to 
recite  on  our  Saturday  evenings.  Other  individ- 
uals volunteered  to  provide  us  with  courses  of 
lectures.  Now,  it  must  be  remembered  that  none 
of  our  boys  were  truants  or  idlers.  In  New  York 
most  of  them  worked  during  the  day  or  attended 
the  City  College,  and  on  Staten  Island  they  were 
in  school  all  the  morning  and  ran  of  errands  in  the 
afternoon.  None  of  the  people  who  offered  us 
courses  of  instruction  seemed  to  grasp  the  idea 
that  many  private  educational  societies,  and  the 
public  schools,  with  their  day  and  night  classes 
and  public  lecture  courses,  were  already  providing 
excellent  instruction  in  nearly  every  branch  of 
learning,  and  that  our  clubs  would  have  had  poor 
excuse  for  existing  if  they  had  merely  tried  to  rival 
these  well-estabHshed  institutions.  The  means  for 
harmless  pleasure  and  amusement  and  for  social 
development,  however,  were  wholly  inadequate  to 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION       loi 

the  needs  of  the  neighborhood,  and  it  was  to  meet, 
in  a  small  measure,  these  needs,  that  our  clubs 
were  prganized.  Social  development,  expressed 
by  the  Young  Potomac  Club  in  Article  II  as  a 
desire  "  to  promote  a  feeling  of  brotherhood 
among  the  members,  to  teach  them  the  principles 
of  honest,  intelligent  self-government  and  to  en- 
courage good  citizenship  among  them,"  is,  of  course, 
the  primary  object  of  any  club.  This  must  be 
obvious  to  any  one  who  reads  the  preceding  and 
following  chapters.  The  second  object  is,  frankly, 
to  instruct  them  in  a  variety  of  ways  of  getting 
harmless  pleasure  and  amusement. 

Activity  in  pure  amusement  serves  a  twofold 
purpose,  first,  as  already  suggested,  by  teaching 
how  to  spend  leisure  hours  innocently,  and  second, 
by  producing  those  situations  which  must  be  ethi- 
cally discussed,  and  which  represent  object-lessons 
in  self-government.  In  Chapter  IX,  "  Outside 
Activities  of  the  Club,"  is  described  the  purely 
mechanical  management  of  various  forms  of  boyish 
amusements,  and  in  Chapter  VIII,  "Ethical  Les- 
sons of  the  Business  Meeting,"  is  an  account  of 
several  ethical  experiences  and  discussions  grow- 
ing out  of,  and  made  necessary  by,  the  indulgence 
in  these  outside  amusements. 

Now  the  meaning  of  the  words  "  pleasure  "  and 
"amusement"  may  be  pretty  liberally  interpreted, 


102         BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

and  purely  intellectual  exercises  are  for  many 
people  a  source  of  genuine  delight  and  recreation. 
I  use  the  words  here  in  their  narrower  sense,  how- 
ever, and  would  define  them  as  meaning  the  en- 
joyment which  results  from  the  "working  off"  of 
animal  spirits  in  any  kind  of  purposeless  activity 
(partly  mental  but  largely  physical)  and  indulged 
in  with  the  sole  object  of  gaining  enjoyment. 
Now,  whether  one  approves  of  it  or  not,  the  fact 
remains  that  young  people,  with  hot,  coursing 
blood  in  their  veins,  demand  insatiably  amusement 
of  this  kind.  It  might  be  safe  to  ignore  this  de- 
mand if  disappointment  merely  were  to  result  from 
it.  Unfortunately,  if  no  decent  amusement  is  at 
hand,  people  who  are  thoughtless,  ignorant  or  un- 
principled take  advantage  of  the  ever  present  op- 
portunities for  mischief.  Inherent  badness,  which 
only  radical  treatment  can  cure,  undoubtedly 
causes  much  evil  living  (as  does  also  ignorance 
of  the  laws  of  physiology,  lack  of  respect  for  the 
rights  of  weaker  beings  and  deficient  will  power); 
but  many  young  people,  not  essentially  bad,  get 
into  wrong  habits  simply  because,  so  far  as  they 
can  see,  there  is  nothing  else  for  them  to  do.  In 
this  connection  it  is  significant  that  the  word 
"pleasure"  has  been  for  years  almost  a  synonym 
for  dissipation.  It  is  no  less  unfortunate  that 
people  of  a  higher  grade,  whose  principles  or  in- 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION       103 

telligence  will  not  permit  them  to  indulge  in 
vicious  practices  in  their  leisure  hours,  should 
grow  old  and  dull  prematurely  for  lack  of  oppor- 
tunity to  amuse  themselves  innocently. 

The  danger  which  results  from  misunderstand- 
ing and  neglecting  the  appetite  of  youth  for 
amusement  is  appreciated  by  all  the  more  progres- 
sive reformers.  Here  is  one  of  the  recommenda- 
tions made  by  the  committee  which  was  appointed 
(in  1 901)  to  investigate  the  condition  of  vice  in 
New  York.  This  body  suggests,  as  a  means  of 
lessening  vice,  "...  the  furnishing,  by  public 
provision  or  private  munificence,  of  purer  and  more 
elevating  forms  of  amusements  to  supplant  the 
attractions  of  the  low  dance  halls,  theatres  and 
similar  places  of  entertainment  which  only  serve 
to  stimulate  sensuality  and  to  debase  the  taste. 
The  pleasures  of  the  people  need  to  be  looked 
after  far  more  earnestly  than  has  been  the  case 
hitherto.  If  we  would  banish  the  kind  of  amuse- 
ments which  degrade,  we  must  offer  the  public,  in 
this  large  cosmopolitan  city,  where  the  appetite 
for  pleasure  is  keen,  some  sort  of  suitable  alter- 
native." Now  the  most  unpractical  dreamers  would 
scarcely  hope  that  for  all  people  lectures,  classes 
and  free  libraries  would  prove  an  immediate  alter- 
native for  dancing.  The  best  substitute  will  always 
be  found  in  the  purified  form  of  the  amusement 


I04         BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

first  chosen  by  the  people  themselves,  and  from 
this  they  may  be  led  to  demand  what  is  more 
ennobling. 

Some  people  must  not  only  be  provided  with 
opportunities  for  harmless  recreation,  but  they 
must  actually  be  shown  how  to  use  and  enjoy 
these  opportunities  when  they  exist.  Two  experi- 
ences in  summer  camp  work  for  boys  have 
taught  me  that  even  a  love  for  the  country 
is  an  acquired,  not  an  inborn,  taste.  Nor  does  a 
taste  for  rightful  pleasure  (or  indeed  pleasure  of 
any  kind)  always  go  with  the  possession  of  money. 
We  have  all  known  rich  men  who  dreaded  their 
vacations.  On  Staten  Island  the  boys  in  one  of 
the  school  clubs  spent  nearly  half  an  hour  before 
they  could  think  of  a  way  in  which  to  spend  the 
year's  accumulation  of  dues.  The  solitary  sug- 
gestion made  (it  was  adopted  instantly  with  a  sigh 
of  relief)  was  to  buy  ice-cream,  although  the 
weather  was  cool,  and  these  boys  were  all  well 
nourished. 

If  such  unimaginative  people  as  these  are  not 
provided  with  opportunities  for  harmless  pleas- 
ure, and  are  not  taught  how  to  enjoy  these  oppor- 
tunities when  they  exist,  how  shall  they  employ 
their  leisure  hours  —  hours  which  modern  life 
tends  to  multiply  "i  In  a  recently  published  book 
called  "  Substitutes  for  the  Saloon  "  may  be  found 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION      105 

the  following  suggestive  sentence,  "  The  leisure 
problem  equals  in  importance  the  labor  problem 
and  far  surpasses  it  in  difficulty."  Now  that  the 
eight-hour  working  day  is  becoming  so  prevalent, 
and  the  customary  religious  exercises  no  longer 
satisfy  the  people's  needs  for  all  of  their  weekly  holi- 
day, we  should  realize  that  there  has  come  to  be  a 
"  leisure  problem "  ;  that  many  people  are  too 
weary,  or  unfitted  by  nature,  to  find  refreshment 
in  purely  mental  exercise  ;  and  that  aimless  pleas- 
ure, attractive  to  all,  may  not  only  be  harmless  but 
actually  productive  of  cheerful  spirits  and  the 
courage  which  makes  lighter  the  toil  which  does, 
and  should,  occupy  the  larger  part  of  the  day.  At 
least  we  should  be  consistent  and  should  not  be- 
grudge every  minute  the  "  poor  boy  "  spends  away 
from  his  book  or  his  tool  box,  while  our  sons  are 
given  every  opportunity  for  developing  a  taste  for 
sports,  games  and  social  recreation. 

So,  whether  your  club  decides  to  come  out  boldly 
and  honestly  in  its  constitution  for  a  "  good  time  " 
or  not  makes  comparatively  little  difference,  so  long 
as  you,  the  adviser,  appreciate  the  importance  of 
amusement  and  see  that  unconsciously  the  boys 
learn  the  art  of  true  recreation.  In  doing  this  you 
will  be  performing  for  them  quite  as  useful  a  ser- 
vice as  in  teaching  them  the  "  principles  of  honest, 
intelligent  self-government." 


I06  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

Article  IV,  Section  2.  —  "Active  membership  is 
open  to  boys  of  good  character,  between  the  ages 
of  twelve  and  fifteen,  if  not  shorter  than  four  and  a 
half  feet:' 

For  many  years  in  the  Potomac  Club  the  last 
part  of  this  section  was  worded,  "  if  not  shorter 
than  the  piano  in  Room  2,"  but  eventually  this 
phrase  was  voted  "babyish,"  and  it  was  changed 
to  the  words  italicized  above.  Indeed,  when  the 
club  first  wrote  its  constitution,  it  was  not  considered 
necessary  to  make  any  specification  whatever  in 
regard  to  the  height  of  would-be  members;  but 
when  boys  only  recently  promoted  to  trousers  ap- 
peared as  candidates,  and  solemnly  swore  that  they 
were  twelve  on  their  last  birthdays,  it  was  deemed 
wiser  to  insert  some  clause  in  the  constitution 
which  would  protect  the  club  against  this  influx 
of  immaturity. 

Of  course,  in  such  cases  as  these  the  adviser 
might  simply  deny  the  assertion  of  age,  but  the 
effect  of  doubting  a  boy's  word  is  always  demoral- 
izing to  him.  The  problem  of  how  to  deal  wisely 
with  the  habit  of  lying  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
the  club  has  to  solve.  We  have  obtained  the  best 
results  by  trusting  the  boys'  words  until  they  were 
proved  to  be  false.  If  a  boy's  word  is  going  to  be 
doubted  with  or  without  proof  against  it,  he  is  apt 
to  feel   that   it   does   not   make   much   difference 


ANALYSIS   OF  THE   CONSTITUTION       107 

whether  he  tells  the  truth  or  not  —  the  results  for 
him  (your  suspiciousness)  are  equally  bad  in  both 
cases.  .  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  let  him  enjoy 
your  perfect  confidence  and  trust  until  he  is  proved 
guilty,  he  feels  that  the  penalty  of  his  untruth- 
fulness is  the  loss  of  something  which  he  pre- 
sumably values ;  viz.,  your  trust  in  him.  Now, 
in  most  of  the  experiences  of  the  club,  the  proof 
of  untruthfulness  will  be  eventually  forthcoming, 
and  the  natural  penalty  paid  by  the  liar  (the  loss  of 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  fellow-members 
and  you)  must  inevitably  be  paid ;  but,  in  the  case 
of  making  false  statements  in  regard  to  age,  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  obtain  proof  of  the  fraud. 
In  a  village  one  would  have  access  to  the  parish 
register,  but  in  a  large  city,  where  many  of  the 
children  are  foreigners,  such  a  record  of  birth  is 
not  easily  obtainable.  The  parents,  too,  cannot 
always  be  depended  upon  to  give  a  correct  version 
of  their  son's  age,  for  if  they  feel  that  an  advantage 
for  their  child  is  at  stake,  many  of  them  will  perjure 
themselves  to  obtain  it.  To  allow  a  boy's  state- 
ment in  regard  to  his  age  to  pass  at  its  own  value 
is  simply  to  put  a  premium  upon  lying,  for  he  will 
have  everything  to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose  by  his 
untruthfulness. 

There  is  another  view  to  take  of  the  matter. 
No   good   is   accomplished   by   forcing   a  boy  to 


loS  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

face  an  irresistible  temptation.  Some  temptations 
they  must  feel  and  learn  to  resist,  but,  so  far  as 
you  have  it  in  your  power  to  do  so,  you  should 
grade  the  temptations  of  the  club  according  to 
the  strength  of  the  boy  to  resist  them.  It  would 
not  be  fair  to  measure  the  morality  of  a  starving 
man  by  placing  forbidden  bread  within  his  reach. 
Strength  to  resist  temptation  may  be  developed 
like  a  muscle  by  judicious  exercise,  but,  like  a 
muscle  again,  it  may  be  completely  atrophied  by 
an  overstrain. 

Some  kind-hearted  persons  will  be  sure  to  say, 
Why  not  take  in  boys  of  all  ages  if  they  desire 
admission,  and  thus  avoid  all  the  troublesome 
complications  which  ensue  from  the  making  of 
restrictions  ?  Theoretically  it  might  be  wise  to  do 
this,  but  experience  has  proved  it  to  be  impracti- 
cable. I  have  never  known  a  club  to  thrive  whose 
members  were  of  mixed  ages.  The  larger  boys, 
being  quicker  and  stronger,  are  likely  to  gain  most 
of  the  advantages  of  the  club.  On  the  other 
hand,  certain  restrictions  are  necessary  for  the 
safety  of  smaller  boys  which  unjustly  hamper  the 
movements  of  older  boys.  In  the  discussions  of 
the  business  meetings  the  friction  which  results 
from  the  disparity  of  ages  is  even  more  incon- 
venient. Either  the  intellectual  standard  of  the 
club  is  lowered  to  the  level  of  the  small  boys,  in 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION       109 

which  case  no  tax  is  put  upon  the  intelligence  of 
the  older  ones,  or  else  the  discussions  are  so  over 
the  heads  of  the  younger  members  that  they  can 
neither  understand  nor  take  part  in  them.  The 
result  in  my  experience  has  always  been  that 
a  mixed  club  divided  itself  into  cHques,  each  one 
of  which  eventually  split  off  and  formed  the 
nucleus  of  an  independent  club.  In  a  well- 
organized  settlement  or  public  school,  where  the 
ground  of  club  education  was  to  be  covered 
thoroughly,  there  should  be  so  many  clubs  for 
groups  of  all  ages  that  there  will  be  no  necessity 
for  little  boys  to  force  their  way  in  where  they 
do  not  belong.     (See  page  172.) 

Article  IV,  Section  4.  —  "No  boy  who  is  reported 
by  the  Investigating  Committee  [which  is  composed 
of  boys]  to  be  a  gambler,  thief  or  cigarette  smoker,  or 
who  is  known  to  be  such  by  two  members  in  good 
standing,  shall  be  eligible  for  membership." 

Sentimentalists  always  object  to  this  section,  for 
they  feel  that  a  boy  who  is  a  gambler,  thief 
or  cigarette  smoker  is  the  one,  precisely,  upon 
whom  the  club  should  try  to  exert  an  influence. 
The  fact  is,  the  club  exerts  its  strongest  influence 
against  these  faults  by  wording  Section  4  in  this 
apparently  heartless  way.  My  idea  in  regard  to 
the  matter  is,  that  the  club  represents  a  privilege, 
and  that  privileges  should  not  be  supported  for 


no  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

the  benefit  of  lawbreakers  as  such.  The  fact 
that  the  boys  cannot  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the 
club  until  they  actually  forswear  the  practice  of 
breaking  laws,  offers  them  a  natural  and  legitimate 
inducement  to  make  a  change  in  their  bad  habits. 
Indeed,  only  those  boys  who  have  sufficient  in- 
telligence and  character  to  be  willing  and  able  to 
change  such  habits  for  the  sake  of  getting  into 
the  club  will  benefit  by  the  discussions  and  ex- 
periences of  the  club  when  at  last  they  become 
members.  As  I  have  said  in  Chapter  II,  when 
criminal  habits  become  deeply  ingrained  in  the 
character,  or  are  the  result  of  congenital  defect, 
something  more  radical  than  mere  membership 
in  a  club  which  meets  but  once  or  twice  a  week 
will  be  needed  to  effect  a  cure. 

Neither  would-be  members,  nor  the  club  itself, 
can  gain  anything  by  cheapening  the  club.  The 
higher  its  standard  of  conduct,  the  more  the  boys 
in  the  neighborhood  will  look  up  to  it,  and  the 
more  it  is  reverenced,  the  greater  will  be  its 
influence.  A  club  that  is  admired  can  make  a 
standard  admired  also,  and  it  is  consequently 
important  that  this  standard  should  be  a  right 
and  high  one. 

Your  attitude  in  regard  to  the  wording  of  this 
section  should  be  thoroughly  explained  to  your 
boys ;    for   nothing    could    be    more    unfortunate 


ANALYSIS   OF  THE   CONSTITUTION       ill 

than  for  them  to  assume,  or  to  think  that  you 
held,  a  self-righteous  attitude  toward  the  excluded 
candidates  for  admission.  The  boys  who  have 
succeeded  in  becoming  members  should,  naturally, 
feel  a  proper  self-respect  for  having  good  sense 
and  strength  of  character,  but  they  should  look 
at  the  matter  in  a  thoroughly  practical,  matter-of- 
fact  way.  All  elements  of  mystery  in  regard  to 
wrong-doing  should  be  removed.  It  should  never 
be  spoken  of  as  "  sin  "  or  anything  which  suggests 
that  the  wrongness  of  it  cannot  be  explained 
perfectly  and  convincingly. 

Article  IV,  Section  5.  —  "If  a  candidate  fills  the 
requirements  [that  he  be  neither  a  thief,  gambler  nor 
smoker]  mentioned  in  Sections  2  and  4  of  this  article, 
a  member  may  not  vote  against  him  unless  he  can  give 
some  reason  which  shall  be  deemed  sufficient  by  the 
members  of  the  club." 

When  boys  commence  quite  arbitrarily  to  black- 
ball candidates  (they  do  it  sometimes  simply  to  show 
their  power),  it  may  seem  necessary  to  put  in  force 
some  such  regulation  as  this.  Such  a  rule  has 
little  real  force,  however,  for  a  boy  will  seldom 
admit  that  his  reason  for  blackballing  a  candidate 
is  simply  foolish  prejudice,  because  this  reason 
will  not  be  accepted  as  sufficiently  good  by  the 
club.  He  is,  therefore,  likely  to  prevaricate  and  to 
invent  some  serious  grievance  against  the  candi- 


112  BOVS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

date.  On  the  other  hand,  a  too  exclusive  policy  on 
the  part  of  the  boys  brings  its  own  penalty.  A 
smaller  membership  list  and  consequently  depleted 
treasury  are  the  natural  result  of  a  general  black- 
balling of  candidates.  When  this  state  of  things 
has  been  brought  about,  the  boys  will  realize  that 
it  is  better  to  indulge  in  a  more  generous  spirit. 

Article  IV,  Section  6.  — "  Members  of  the  Order 
Club  [a  club  of  smaller  boys  which  met  in  an  adjoining 
room]  who  graduate  in  good  standing,  and  who  can 
bring  a  letter  of  recommendation  from  their  Adviser, 
shall  be  admitted  as  members  of  this  club  without  vote 
or  question." 

This  section  was  one  of  the  most  unstable  in  the 
constitution ;  it  was  removed  or  reinserted  nearly 
every  month.  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  decide 
certainly  whether  there  are  more  reasons  for  or 
against  it.  It  is,  of  course,  important  that  the 
attitude  of  the  boys  toward  the  advisers  of  all 
clubs  should  be  one  of  respect  and  confidence,  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  if  the  boys  are  to  feel  that  the 
success  of  the  club  depends  chiefly  upon  them- 
selves, it  is  only  just  that  they  should  have  the 
right  to  take  in  members  who  are  not  only  honest, 
but  whom  they  think  will  be  congenial  and  in 
other  ways  suitable  for  the  club.  The  recom- 
mendation of  the  adviser  is  solely  for  the  honesty 
of  a  member ;  she  cannot  vouch  for  his  general  in- 


A.VALVS/S  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION       113 

telligence  or  the  likelihood  of  his  being  congenial. 
It  may  seem  unjust  that  only  three  members 
should  have  the  power-to  keep  out  of  the  club,  for 
no  reason  but  their  dislike  of  him,  a  boy  whom  per- 
haps the  other  twenty-two  are  anxious  to  take  in ; 
but  the  fact  is,  that  if  two  boys  in  a  club  disHke 
each  other,  their  squabbles  may  bring  a  whole  club 
to  ruin. 

Article  V,  Section  2.  —  "  The  Adviser  is  responsi- 
ble to  the  Guild  for  the  success  of  her  club,  the  safety 
of  its  members  and  of  the  Guild  property.  She  there- 
fore has  the  power  to  veto  any  measure  passed  by  the 
club,  to  order  an  immediate  adjournment  or  to  send 
home  any  boy  for  the  day.  The  Adviser  controls  the 
club's  finances.  No  money  can  be  spent  without  her 
authority.  The  Adviser  arranges  for  days  and  hours 
of  club  session.  All  public  entertainments  given  by 
the  club  must  first  be  approved  by  her," 

If  the  provisions  of  this  section  were  to  be  put  in 
force  frequently,  it  would  relieve  the  boys  entirely 
of  that  responsibility  for  the  success  of  their  club 
which  develops  in  them  wisdom  and  strength  of 
character.  In  a  club  where  the  members  are  over 
twelve,  a  wise  adviser  will  seldom  use  the  power 
which  the  constitution  gives  him,  though  the  boys 
must  understand  that  he  has,  and  should  have,  this 
authority,  since  the  owners  of  the  building  and 
the  parents  of  members  will  hold  him  accountable 
for  a  seriously  damaged  room  or  an  injured  boy. 


114  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

They  must  also  realize  that  the  adviser  is  not 
given  this  power  for  the  purpose  of  saving  them 
—  the  boys  —  from  worry  or  the  consequences  of 
all  their  mistakes,  but  only  to  save  himself  when 
he  believes  his  credit  and  standing  with  owners 
and  parents  is  going  to  be  endangered  by  some 
decision  or  action  of  the  boys.  Wherever  the  con- 
sequences of  their  acts  can  be  borne  by  the  boys 
themselves  he  will  not  interfere. 

But  this  reserving  of  authority  for  extreme  cases 
is  not  inconsistent  with  the  frequent  giving  of 
advice.  The  probable  results  and  consequences 
of  any  contemplated  act  should  be  pointed  out, 
and  if,  in  spite  of  such  a  warning,  the  boys  persist 
in  carrying  out  some  unwise  plan,  and  disaster 
follows,  the  adviser  should  trace  out  for  them  the 
connection  between  cause  and  effect.  But  even 
advice  should  not  be  too  authoritative.  In  my 
clubs  I  used  to  go  so  far  as  to  tell  the  boys  that  I 
did  not  claim  to  be  infallible,  and  that,  if  they 
could  see  any  untruth  in  what  I  told  them  or  any 
flaw  in  my  logic,  I  should  not  consider  it  signifi- 
cant of  disrespect  or  impertinence  to  argue  against 
me  as  they  would  if  they  disagreed  with  an  ordi- 
nary member.  Indeed,  more  than  once  I  have  had 
to  acknowledge  the  superior  wisdom  of  one  of  the 
boys. 

Before  adopting  this  open-minded  policy,  how- 


ANALYSIS   OF  THE   CONSTITUTIOiV       115 

ever,  the  adviser  must  be  so  sure  of  the  real  re- 
spect and  confidence  of  the  boys  that  his  attitude 
will  never  be  mistaken  for  weakness  or  timidity. 
It  may  not  be  amiss  to  speak  here  of  how  the  ad- 
viser is  to  gain  this  confidence  and  respect. 

First,  one's  physical  supremacy  must  be  estab- 
lished. It  is  very  well  to  talk  of  the  effect  of  mind 
over  matter,  but  in  my  experience  it  has  been  su- 
perior matter  over  inferior  matter  first,  and  then 
superior  mind  over  inferior  mind.  Until  the  ques- 
tion of  who  is  physical  master  is  settled,  the 
inferior  mind  is  not  subject  to  mental  or  moral 
influences.  A  male  adviser  nearly  always  has  to 
assert  the  fact  of  his  superior  muscle  by  a  fight 
with  at  least  one  of  his  members,  and  even  I 
have  had  cause  to  be  thankful  more  than  once 
for  strong  arms.  Twice  I  have  had  to  organize. 
clubs  in  a  neighborhood  where  such  institutions 
had  never  been  heard  of  before.  In  both  cases 
there  was  great  lawlessness  in  the  first  business 
meetings,  and  things  finally  came  to  such  a  pass 
that  no  amount  of  moral  suasion  had  any  effect 
whatever.  In  both  cases  I  had  to  resort  to  the 
expedient  of  picking  up  the  ringleader  by  the  col- 
lar and  carrying  him,  kicking,  through  the  front 
door,  which  I  closed  upon  him.  This  crude  ex- 
hibition of  superior  force  commanded  instant  ap- 
preciation.    The  proof  that  I  was  not  afraid   of 


Il6  BOYS'   SELF-GO VERiV/ATG    CLUBS 

them  made  the  boys  realize  how  useless  it  was  to 
try  to  disobey  me. 

In  the  play  hour  the  boys  should  be  allowed  a 
good  deal  of  latitude  in  the  way  of  noise  and 
general  aimless  activity,  up  to  the  point  where 
they  trespass  upon  the  rights  of  the  owners  of 
the  building  and  the  game  players.  The  adviser 
should  remember  that  he  must  not  judge  of  a 
wrong-doing  by  its  irritating  effect  upon  his  own 
nerves.  For  instance,  it  is  no  worse  a  crime  to 
make  a  noise  on  the  day  when  he  has  a  head- 
ache than  any  other  day,  unless  he  explains  his 
affliction  and  begs  for  forbearance  on  the  ground 
of  friendship. 

Article  V,  Section  lo.  —  "  No  one  can  hold  office 
for  more  than  two  consecutive  terms  (this  rule  does  not 
apply  to  the  Adviser),  or  more  than  three  terms  alto- 
gether." 

This  provision  is  in  distinct  opposition  to  all 
efforts  at  civil  service  reform.  At  least  two  terms 
are  required  to  fit  a  boy  to  fulfil  the  functions  of 
office  really  well,  and  by  that  time,  according  to 
the  section  above,  he  is  required  to  step  aside  to 
give  another  inexperienced  boy  "a  chance."  The 
point  of  view  of  the  boys  is,  that  to  be  an  officer 
is  a  privilege  and  an  honor  greatly  to  be  coveted, 
and  that,  therefore,  every  member  should  share  it. 


ANALYSIS   OF  THE  CONSTITUTION      117 

and  that  it  should  not  be  monopolized  by  the  few 
simply  because  of  their  fitness.  This  is  an  un- 
sound theory,  of  course.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  holding  of  office  certainly  does  develop  latent 
character  and  ability.  The  end  toward  which  the 
club  should  work  is  not  to  make  smooth  and 
orderly  business  meetings,  but  to  develop  the 
intelligence  and  character  of  the  members.  For 
that  reason  it  is  desirable  that  each  boy  should 
have  reasonable  opportunity  to  profit  by  the  ex- 
perience of  holding  office. 

For  another  reason,  also,  it  is  better  that  the  term 
of  office  should  be  limited.  Change  of  officers 
necessitates  constant  watchfulness  on  the  part  of 
the  other  members.  .  I  have  known  boys  who  were 
so  gifted  that  under  their  administrations  the  club 
at  first  throve  and  prospered.  So  great  was  the 
confidence  and  admiration  which  they  inspired 
(solely  by  personal  magnetism  half  the  time)  that 
gradually  all  authority  and  judgment  were  left  to 
them.  The  members  settled  down  to  the  lazy  en- 
joyment of  a  peace  and  prosperity  which  was  not 
in  any  degree  owing  to  them,  and  the  gifted  presi- 
dent, missing  the  stimulus  of  contradiction  and 
opposition,  degenerated  into  a  common  boss. 

Article  VI,  Section  i.  —  "Any  member  who  steals, 
gambles,  smokes  or  swears,  inside  or  outside  the  club,  is 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor." 


Il8         BOVS'  SELF-GO VERN/NG   CLUBS 

Article  VII,  Section  i.  —  "Any  boy  proved  guilty 
of  a  misdemeanor  shall  be  expelled  or  suspended,  ac- 
cording to  the  judgment  of  the  club." 

A  boy  may  find  it  possible  to  refrain  from  steal- 
ing, gambling  or  smoking  for  a  month  or  two 
with  the  prospect  of  membership  in  the  club  as  a 
reward  for  his  self-restraint,  but,  after  attaining  his 
object,  his  strength  of  character  may  be  unequal  to 
the  task  of  living  up  to  this  high  standard  of  con- 
duct for  an  indefinite  length  of  time.  When  a 
member,  therefore,  is  proved  by  two  reputable 
witnesses  to  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  he  must 
pay  some  penalty  for  his  transgressions.  Here, 
again,  the  attitude  of  the  club  must  be  impersonal 
and  judicial,  and  the  boys  should  never  regard  the 
penalty  which  must  be  paid  by  the  defecting  mem- 
ber as  punishment.  First,  they  should  consider 
it  as  a  necessary  measure  in  order  to  save  the 
honor  and  good  name  of  the  club,  and  second,  they 
should  regard  it  merely  as  a  means  of  self-defence. 
A  thief,  for  example,  would  scarcely  be  a  safe  per- 
son to  admit  to  a  room  where  games,  coats  and 
hats  were  lying  about  in  trusting  confusion. 

Article  XI,  Sectmt  2.  —  "The  constitution  may  at 
no  time  be  '  laid  aside.'  " 

Article  XI,  Section  3.  —  "Amendments  may  be 
made  at  any  time  and  shall  be  recorded  in  the  minutes. 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION      119 

but  such  amendments  shall  take  effect  only  from  the  first 
week  in  every  month." 

Some  time  elapsed  after  the  organization  of  the 
Young  Potomac  Club  before  it  became  necessary 
to  incorporate  either  of  these  sections  into  Article 
XI,  but  in  the  course  of  time  somebody  dis- 
covered that  an  ingenious  way  to  evade  a  tempo- 
rarily inconvenient  law  was  to  vote  to  "lay  it 
aside  "  for  the  moment.  The  effect  of  regarding 
a  law  with  such  laxity  was  naturally  demoralizing. 
Instead  of  regarding  the  business  of  law-making 
as  serious  and  worthy  of  intelligent  thought,  it  was 
considered  as  a  pleasant  and  somewhat  humorous 
pastime  merely ;  for  however  jocose  and  unpracti- 
cal a  law  might  be,  its  provisions  were  never 
binding.  When  Section  2  was  first  inserted  into 
the  constitution,  it  was  hoped  that  a  more  respect- 
ful attitude  toward  laws  would  be  induced,  but  the 
only  result  was  that  the  boys  had  immediate  re- 
course to  their  power  of  amendment.  The  instant 
the  restraint  of  a  law  was  felt  it  was  amended,  and 
perhaps  amended  back  into  its  original  condition 
at  the  same  or  the  next  meeting.  Section  3  was 
required  to  put  an  end  to  this  abuse  of  the  power 
of  amendment. 

In  parliamentary  law  there  is  a  rule  that  "  when 
any  contemplated  motion  or  proceeding  is  ren- 
dered impracticable  by  reason  of  the  existence  of 


120         BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNIN-G   CLUBS 

some  special  rule  by  which  it  is  prohibited,  it  has 
become  an  established  practice  in  this  country  to 
suspend  or  dispense  with  the  rule  for  the  purpose 
of  admitting  the  proceeding  or  motion  which  is 
desired."  Now,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
club  has  its  own  code  of  parHamentary  laws  in 
addition  to  its  constitution.  The  laws  of  its  con- 
stitution represent  what  might  be  called  its  laws 
of  morality,  and  its  parliamentary  code  its  laws 
of  convenience.  As  the  boys  have  no  voice  in 
the  making  of  their  parliamentary  laws,  and  as 
these  laws  are  not  subject  to  alteration  or  amend- 
ment, it  is  only  just  and  sensible  that  they  should 
be  suspended  whenever  they  cease  to  perform  the 
function  for  which  they  are  intended ;  viz.,  to  fa- 
cilitate the  transaction  of  business  and  the  mak- 
ing of  morality  laws.  Such  suspension  should  not 
take  place  without  the  unanimous  consent  of  the 
assembled  members  of  the  club. 

Article  XII,  Section  i.  —  "The  dues  of  this  club 
shall  be  three  cents  weekly." 

Of  course  this  sum  would  vary  according  to  the 
age  and  class  of  the  boys  composing  the  club,  but 
I  think  that  three  cents  is  the  sum  which  boys 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  would  find  it  most  con- 
venient to  pay. 

The  members  of  both  the  Young  Potomac  Club 


ANALYSIS.  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION-      12 1 

and  the  Staten  Island  clubs  have  been  guilty  on 
several  occasions  of  a  curious  little  piece  of  hypoc- 
risy ifi  this  matter  of  dues.  At  regular  intervals 
amendments  to  this  section  would  be  made  which 
called  for  ten  or  fifteen  cent  dues,  and  the  boys 
who  were  the  loudest  in  approving  this  change 
were  those  who  had  been  unable  to  afford  even 
three  cents. 

Article  XII,  Section  3.  —  "Two-thirds  of  all  the 
dues  collected  shall  be  given  to  the  Guild  for  rent  of 
room." 

Ultimately  the  boys  of  any  club  should  make 
some  contribution  toward  the  rent  or  any  other 
current  expense.  This  will  not  only  be  a  decided 
help  to  the  people  who  are  running  the  club  ^  but 
is  necessary  to  maintain  the  boys'  self-respect. 

^  The  clubs  which  were  organized  by  the  Public  Education  Asso- 
ciation in  the  two  public  schools  made  a  valuable  contribution  to 
the  running  expenses.  During  the  first  year  of  the  experiment  only 
six  clubs  met  in  one  school.  During  the  second  year  two  schools 
were  open,  and  these  sheltered  twelve  clubs.  The  cost  of  running 
these  clubs  for  two  years  and  two  or  three  months  was  as  follows :  — 

Janitors'  salaries ^246.25 

Damage 1344 

Postage,  typewriting,  etc 6.48 

Basket-ball 1.38 

;?267.S5 

Of  this  sum  the  boys  contributed  ^93.70,  $13.44. of  which  was 
for  damage  and  $80.26  for  use  of  class-rooms.  This  diminished 
the  association's  expense  to  $173.85. 


122  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

When  a  club  is  first  started  there  may  not  be 
enough  enthusiasm  for  it  to  inspire  the  sacrifice 
of  money  for  rent ;  but  as  soon  as  possible  the 
boys  should  be  made  to  realize  the  shame  of  ac- 
cepting club  privileges  without  paying  for  them, 
at  least  in  part. 

As  I  have  said  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  boys 
will  learn  gradually  and  by  experience  the  inner 
meaning  and  significance  of  laws,  but  the  adviser 
must  know  all  this  from  the  beginning.  If  a  bad 
law  is  passed,  he  must  know  why  it  is  bad  and 
must  know  how  to  guide  the  thought  and  opinion 
of  the  club,  not  too  suddenly,  toward  taking  the 
first  step  ^  in  the  direction  of  greater  wisdom  and 
morality. 

^  "The  institutions  of  a  people  to  be  helpful  and  serviceable 
cannot  be  far  in  advance  of  their  actual  condition;  and  if  the 
dream  of  the  educational  utopist  could  be  realized  in  form,  it 
would  be  inoperative  with  men  and  things  as  they  are."  —  Will- 
iam H.  Payne,  A.M.,  "  Contributions  to  the  Science  of  Education." 
Harper  Bros.,  1886. 


CHAPTER  VII 

ETHICAL  LESSONS  OF  THE  PLAYGROUND 

The  reward  of  admission  to  the  club  serves  as 
an  inducement  to  break  bad  habits.  The  fear  of 
some  arbitrary  punishment,  or  the  hope  of  an 
equally  arbitrary  reward  administered  by  some 
irresponsible  power  or  person,  is  the  most  primi- 
tive incentive  to  morality.  Little  principle  is 
involved  in  morality  of  this  kind,  however,  and 
without  principle  morality  will  neither  develop  nor 
remain  permanent.  If  I  tell  Mosey  that  he  must 
not  break  windows  because  if  he  does  the  poHce- 
man  will  catch  him,  he  will  refrain  from  doing  so 
only  as  long  as  the  policeman  is  in  sight,  because 
he  has  learned  no  principle  against  breaking  win- 
dows. If  I  say  to  Teddy  that  if  he  steals  jam  God 
will  see  him  and  punish  him,  he  will  keep  away 
from  the  pantry  only  until  it  is  dark,  and  then  he 
will  tell  me  he  took  the  jam  because  it  was  so  dark 
he  was  sure  God  could  not  see  him.  If,  after  I 
had  warned  him,  some  one  had  convinced  him  that 
there  was  no  such  person  as  God,  he  would  then 
also  have  felt  at  liberty  to  take  the  jam. 

123 


124  BOVS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

Now,  if  one  is  to  have  real  principles  against 
wrong-doing,  one  must  know  how  and  why  a  given 
act  will  work  harmfully  upon  one's  self  or  upon 
others;  one  must  have  self-respect  sufficient  to  be 
unwilling  to  damage  one's  own  soul,  mind  or  body; 
and  one  must  possess  enough  sympathy  to  be  averse 
to  injuring  the  soul,  mind  or  body  of  one's  neighbor. 
If  I  had  explained  to  Teddy  how  the  jam  would 
get  his  digestion  out  of  order,  and  how,  by  eating 
it,  he  would  waste  something  that  cost  a  great  deal 
of  the  money  his  poor  father  worked  so  hard  to 
earn,  he  would  have  learned  a  principle  against 
stealing  jam. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  believe  that  we  can  trust  to 
the  instinct  or  conscience  of  children  to  tell  them 
what  is  the  right  thing  to  do  under  all  circum- 
stances. As  we  have  seen  in  Chapter  II,  chil- 
dren do  not  have  an  instinct  that  stealing  is 
wrong,  and  yet  it  requires  very  little  knowledge, 
intelligence  or  sympathy  to  acquire  a  principle 
against  this  practice.  If  conscience  does  not  tell 
children  that  it  is  wrong  to  steal,  how  can  we  ex- 
pect it  to  dictate  the  highest  form  of  wisdom  and 
morality  in  the  complicated  political  and  social 
relations  of  modern  life } 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  your  boys  will  not 
have  had  many  generous,  even  noble,  impulses, 
but  they  will   have   given    no    more  spontaneous 


ETHICAL  LESSONS  OF  THE  PLAYGROUND     125 

thought  to  ethics  than  to  metaphysics.  The  habit 
of  calculating  wisely  and  cold-bloodedly  the  effects 
upon  themselves  and  upon  others  of  any  given  act 
is  one  which  they  will  never  have  acquired ;  but 
this  steady,  intelligent,  principled  morality,  as  dis- 
tinct from  spasmodic,  impulsive  morahty,  is,  it 
seems  to  me,  a  quality  greatly  needed  among  us. 

Most  children  are  capable  of  understanding 
what  is  right  in  a  very  simple  case  whose  bearings 
are  all  lucidly  explained  to  them,  and  sympathy, 
even  passionate  sympathy,  is  latent  in  every  normal 
child's  nature.  During  the  first  hour  in  the  play- 
ground are  found  opportunities  for  explaining  with 
great  simplicity  the  principles  of  honesty  and  kind- 
ness in  human  relations.  These  principles  are  not 
to  be  forced  upon  the  boys,  but  must  be  gradually 
developed  in  them.  First,  by  your  explanations  and 
reasoning,  you  instil  into  their  minds  the  theory  of  a. 
principle,  and  then,  by  showing  them  how  it  works 
in  the  concrete  situations  of  the  club,  you  teach 
them  2.  practical  working  principle. 

I  speak  of  the  first  hour  in  the  playground. 
Now,  it  is  obviously  impossible  for  all  the  clubs  in, 
let  us  say,  a  schoolhouse  of  average  size  to  pass 
their  first  hour  in  the  playground ;  some  of  them 
must  be  taking  their  turns  in  the  class-room  upstairs. 
If,  however,  you  are  of  a  philosophical  turn  of 
mind,  you  will  gain  great  satisfaction  from  the  idea 


126         BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

that  one,  at  least,  of  your  clubs  passes  each  night 
of  its  meeting  up  an  ascending  scale  of  civilization, 
commencing  with  the  hour  in  the  playground,  which, 
with  its  many  opportunities  (and  limitations  also), 
represents  the  conditions  of  a  primitive  society  where 
the  only  necessary  laws  relate  to  purely  physical 
situations,  and  the  problems  to  be  solved  are  con- 
crete ;  and  ending  with  the  business  hour,  when  the 
machinery  of  government  becomes  more  complex, 
the  laws  relate  to  spiritual  as  well  as  physical  situa- 
tions, and  many  of  the  problems  which  present 
themselves  are  abstract. 

As  an  example  of  the  elementary  ethical  lessons 
of  the  first  hour  I  will  describe  a  scene  which  I 
have  witnessed  many  times,  and  which,  I  might 
say,  is  typical  of  all  newly  organized  clubs.  Let 
us  imagine  that  the  Young  Citizens'  Social  Circle 
has  the  exclusive  right  to  occupy  the  playground  in 
your  public  school  during  their  "  first  hour,"  —  that 
is  to  say,  from  eight  to  nine  o'clock.  From  nine 
to  ten  this  body  of  future  voters  moves  upstairs  to 
a  class-room  where,  during  its  second  hour,  it  dis- 
cusses the  affairs  of  the  nation  —  represented  for 
the  time  being  by  the  Young  Citizens'  Social  Circle. 
While  the  Citizens  are  in  the  playground  another 
club  —  the  Lincoln  Pleasure  Club  —  is  in  the  class- 
room, and  at  nine  o'clock  these  two  organizations 
change  places. 


ETHICAL  LESSONS  OF  THE  PLAYGROUND     127 

When  these  groups  are  first  assigned  their  re- 
spective hours  in  the  playground  they  do  not 
know  exactly  how  to  take  advantage  of  the  privi- 
lege you  offer  them.  When  your  school  was  first 
opened  all  the  gangs  were  in  the  playground  to- 
gether, shouting  and  jumping  about,  and  the  very 
gregariousness  and  noise  of  it  afforded  sufficient 
entertainment.  But  now  that  each  group  —  of 
certainly  not  more  than  twenty  boys  —  can  have 
the  playground  to  itself,  it  is  overawed  by  an 
opportunity  so  much  vaster  than  anything  it  has 
hitherto  been  taught  to  make  use  of. 

"  Now,"  you  say  to  them,  "  each  boy  here  is  free 
to  do  what  he  likes  up  to  the  point  where  he  seri- 
ously interferes  with  the  pleasure  of  some  one  else. 
The  only  '  must  not '  I  shall  have  to  say  is  when 
he  does  that.  Now  tell  me,  all  of  you,  what  you 
intend  to  do  with  yourselves  here.  Four  of  you 
want  to  play  checkers  .''  Very  good.  There  are 
two  tables  and  two  boards.  Take  your  things 
into  the  farthest  corner  of  the  room,  so  that 
you  will  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  game  which 
occupies  the  middle  of  the  room.  And  now  you. 
Mosey,  you  want  to  play  —  base-ball  ?  Please  tell 
me  how  you  think  you  can  arrange  such  a  game  in 
a  room  like  this." 

"  Well,"  says  Mosey,  excitedly,  "  I  have  a  bat  at 
home,  and  I  know  some  one  who  has  a  ball.     I'll 


128         BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

go  and  get  them  now.  Say,  you  fellers,  how  many 
of  you  want  to  play  base-ball  ? " 

Twelve,  boys  respond  as  Mosey  darts  toward 
the  door  in  quest  of  bat  and  ball,  while  the  four  or 
five  remaining  members  seat  themselves  along  the 
walls  as  onlookers.  * 

In  a  short  time  Mosey  returns  with  his  bat  and 
ball. 

"  But,  Mosey,"  you  say,  "how  can  you  play  in  a 
room  like  this  with  such  a  hard  ball .-' " 

"  I  thought  you  said  we  could  play  anything," 
says  Mosey,  indignantly. 

"So  I  did,"  you  answer;  "but  I  also  said  that 
you  must  not  interfere  seriously  with  any  one  else's 
attempt  to  do  what  he  likes.  How  would  these 
other  boys  like  to  be  hit  on  the  head  with  such  a 
hard  ball  t " 

"  Oh,  we  could  dodge,"  they  cry  like  true  sports. 

"  All  right,"  you  say  ;  "  that  objection  is  removed. 
But  there  yet  remain  the  windows.  They  are  un- 
screened, you  see.  It  is  impossible  to  guide  a  ball 
with  a  bat,  and  it  would  make  short  work  of  these 
panes  if  it  struck  them." 

The  little  circle  meditates  gloomily  for  a  moment. 
Then  Mosey  says,  remembering  that  they  now  col- 
lect dues  in  his  club,  "  If  we  break  the  windows, 
we  can  buy  new  ones." 

"  But,"  you  answer,  "  do  you  think  it  is  right  to 


ETHICAL  LESSONS  OF  THE  PLAYGROUND     129 

destroy  good  and  useful  things  ?  Paying  for  new 
window-panes  does  not  bring  back  the  old  ones. 
Just  so  much  wealth  in  the  world  is  wasted  ;  just  so 
much  labor  thrown  away  ;  and  if  you  had  a  million 
dollars,  you  could  not  bring  back  to  life  and  utility 
the  thing  destroyed." 

"But,"  you  continue,  "there  is  no  reason  why, 
in  the  course  of  time,  you  should  not  save  up 
money  enough  to  buy  screens  for  the  windows  and 
electric  lights.  But,  in  the  meantime,  let  us  see  if 
there  is  not  some  way  of  changing  this  game  so  as 
to  make  it  safe." 

If  no  one  else  can  think  of  a  way  to  adapt  the 
game  to  the  limitations  of  the  room,  you  may  sug- 
gest playing  it  with  a  tennis-ball.  In  this  way  all 
the  motions  of  the  game  are  preserved,  while  the 
danger  to  people  and  windows  is  entirely  averted. 
If  they  do  not  care  for  this  arrangement,  you  can 
propose  that  the  game  be  played  thus  :  The  pitcher 
rolls  the  ball  to  the  catcher,  while  the  man  at  the 
bat  stands  with  his  bat  turned  downwards,  and  in 
striking  the  ball  drives  it  along  the  ground,  as  he 
would  with  a  golfing-iron.  When  this  ball  has 
been  stopped  at  one  of  the  bases  or  in  the  field,  it 
may  be  tossed  to  other  bases  or  to  the  pitcher,  be- 
cause with  the  hand  it  is  possible  to  guide  the  ball 
with  reasonable  accuracy,  while  with  a  bat  a  true 
aim    can    never  be  taken.     By  this  adaptation  all 


I30  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

the  rules  of  base-ball  are  preserved,  while  only  a 
few  (important  ones,  however)  of  the  motions  are 
changed. 

In  this  little  episode  we  see  that  several 
practical  ethical  lessons  have  been  instilled  into 
the  boys'  minds.  It  is  probable  that  many  of 
your  club  boys  will  never  have  stopped  to  think 
whether  it  is,  or  is  not,  right  to  break  windows. 
I  think  their  point  of  view  will  probably  have 
been  that,  as  people  were  so  mean  as  to  stop  ball- 
playing  in  the  streets,  it  served  them  right  to 
have  their  windows  broken.  I  am  sure  that  not 
a  boy  will  ever  have  had  the  idea  that  to  break 
what  one  is  willing  and  able  to  pay  for  is  an 
unwarranted  act. 

Now  (to  carry  out  the  idea  that  the  club  repre- 
sents society  on  a  small  scale)  the  boys  not  only 
pass  each  night  from  a  lower  state  of  civilization 
in  the  playground  to  a  higher  state  in  the  class- 
room, but  (as  I  have  said  before),  as  time  goes 
on,  the  problems  pecuUar  to  each  hour  tax  to  a 
greater  and  greater  extent  the  boys'  powers  of 
reasoning,  while  the  standard  of  morality  in  each 
hour  is  raised.  The  lessons  of  the  playground 
will  not  end  with  the  peaceful  acceptance  of  a 
modified  game  of  base-ball.  Indeed,  a  new  and 
less  simple  set  of  problems  confronts  us  with  the 
first  attempt  to  get  the  game  under  way. 


ETHICAL  LESSONS  OF  THE  PLAYGROUND     131 

For  instance,  a  scene  of  wild  confusion  is  caused 
by  the  efforts  of  the  boys  to  settle  the  question 
as  to  who  are  to  occupy  the  various  positions  on 
the  nine.  Considerably  over  half  an  hour  is 
consumed  in  this  way  ;  but  at  last  the  captains 
and  their  respective  men  withdraw  to  opposite 
ends  of  the  room,  and  the  boys  take  their  assigned 
places  in  joyous  anticipation  of  the  game.  The 
man  at  the  bat  looks  as  if  a  cannon-ball  would 
not  be  too  swift  for  him ;  the  pitcher  gives  a  few 
preUminary  squirms,  when  —  on  the  stairs  are  heard 
resounding  footsteps,  and  the  members  of  the 
Lincoln  Pleasure  Club  burst  upon  the  scene. 

The  Young  Citizens  fall  upon  them. 

"  But  look  at  the  clock,"  says  their  adviser ; 
"the  playground  was  only  assigned  to  you  till 
nine." 

The  poor  little  Citizens  look  at  the  clock. 
After  that  there  is  nothing  to  be  said.  Sadly 
they  gather  up  their  belongings  and  watch  the 
"  Lincolns "  take  the  coveted  positions  on  the 
diamond.  Perhaps  they  think  that  next  week 
they  will  not  waste  so  many  precious  minutes 
squabbling  for  positions,  that  there  is  no  time  left 
to  enjoy  those  positions  when  they  get  them.  At 
any  rate,  you  must  see  to  it  that  this  idea  is 
present  in  their  minds  just  when  the  disappoint- 
ment of  the  incident  is  fresh. 


132         BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

If  none  of  the  boys  can  think  of  a  way  to  avoid 
in  future  this  encroachment  upon  their  game  hour, 
you  may  propose  to  them  that  the  nines  meet 
to  discuss  the  make-up  of  their  game  at  some 
given  rendezvous  half  an  hour  before  the  play- 
ground opens ;  or  else,  if  they  are  willing  to 
spare  fifteen  minutes  of  their  business  meeting 
once  in  a  while,  they  may  elect  a  captain,  to 
whom  is  delegated  the  power  to  appoint  to  all 
positions. 

In  this  incident  we  see  the  second  lesson  of  the 
playground ;  viz.,  the  importance  of  a  wise  and 
economical  expenditure  of  time.  As  the  months 
go  on,  other  experiences  tax  the  boys'  powers  of 
ethical  reasoning.  Some  weeks  after  we  first  met 
the  Young  Citizens'  Social  Circle,  we  find  the  club 
as  usual  amusing  itself  in  the  early  evening  with 
games.  Four  boys  are  playing  checkers  in  dif- 
ferent corners ;  two  more  have  moved  to  the 
other  end  of  the  room,  where  they  play  battledore 
and  shuttlecock.  In  the  middle  of  the  room  a 
dozen  boys  are  absorbed  in  a  vigorous  game  of 
base-ball.  For  a  while  all  goes  well.  Then, 
suddenly,  the  shuttlecock  lights  on  the  nose  of 
the  man  on  first  base,  who  is  just  about  to  catch 
out  the  club's  swiftest  runner.  There  is  a  howl 
of  rage.  What  right  have  two  or  three  to  disturb 
the  majority  —  the    majority  which    always   rules 


ETHICAL  LESSONS  OF  THE  PLAYGROUND     153 

in  the  club  —  they  ask  indignantly!  The  adviser 
tries  to  explain  the  situation  to  them,  but  it  is 
much  ^nore  difficult  for  the  boys  to  understand 
the  right  of  the  minority  to  the  pursuit  of  very 
incommoding  happiness,  than  the  right  of  a  man 
to  have  his  windows  left  unbroken.  But,  never- 
theless, the  effort  is  made,  and  in  a  little  while 
the  majority  consents  to  relinquish  some  small 
part  of  its  liberty  in  order  that  all  may  have  a 
good  time ;  and  when,  a  few  minutes  later,  the 
base-ball  drops  on  the  checker-board,  scattering 
the  little  pieces  in  all  directions,  the  minority 
does  not  complain,  feeling  that  it,  too,  must  make 
some  concession  for  the  good  of  all. 

Sooner  or  later  the  boys  must  learn  the 
difference  between  the  responsibility  of  the 
crowd  and  the  responsibility  of  the  individual. 
For  instance,  on  a  fine,  bracing  winter  evening,  the 
Lincoln  Pleasure  Club  enters  the  playground  in 
extraordinarily  high  spirits.  The  members  gallop 
about  the  big  room,  their  voices  gradually  increasing 
in  volume  until  the  noise  becomes  a  din.  Benches 
are  overturned  and  leaped  over;  good-natured 
blows  are  dealt  right  and  left ;  lights  are  turned 
off  and  on.  You  simply  watch  these  proceedings, 
making  no  criticism,  as,  thus  far,  nothing  wrong 
has  been  done.  Soon,  however,  a  boy  seizes  a 
foot-ball  and  with  a  shout  of  glee  flings  it   into 


134         BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

the  air.  It  strikes  an  electric-light  bulb,  which  it 
breaks. 

There  is  an  immediate  collapse  of  the  inflated 
little  figures.     They  look  at  you  askance. 

"  Well,  boys,"  you  say,  "  we  shall  have  to  take  up 
a  collection  to  pay  for  this  broken  bulb.  Twenty 
cents  divided  among  you  will  be  about  a  penny 
apiece." 

"But  Johnny  Brown  broke  it;  why  should  we 
pay  for  it .'' "  will  ask  the  boys  of  more  question- 
ing minds. 

"Johnny  Brown  did  break  it,"  you  answer ;  "  but 
who  worked  him  up  to  such  a  pitch  of  excitement 
that  he  was  impelled  to  act  in  this  reckless  way  > 

"  No,"  you  continue  ;  "  whatever  spirit,  good  or 
bad,  dominates  a  crowd  is  sure  to  infect  those  in- 
dividuals who  come  within  the  influence  of  that 
crowd.  If  these  individuals  excel  the  crowd  itself 
in  their  expression  of  this  spirit,  the  responsibility 
for  this  expression  must,  nevertheless,  be  shared 
by  the  crowd." 

Instances  where  the  individual  alone  is  respon- 
sible for  his  acts  of  vandalism  will  certainly  not  be 
wanting  during  the  course  of  your  club  experience. 
When  such  instances  occur,  you  should  point  out 
to  the  boys  wherein  lies  the  difference  between 
individual  and  collective  responsibility.  In  such 
cases  there  will  be  three  different  classes  of   of- 


ETHICAL  LESSONS  OF  THE  PLAYGROUND     135 

fences,  and  you  should  try  to  discriminate  between 
them  and  grade  the  penalty  accordingly.  First, 
where  an  act  of  vandalism  is  performed  as  a  result 
of  anger,  for  wanton  mischief  or  revenge,  the  cul- 
prit should  be  made  to  pay  the  full  cost  of  the 
damage  and  should  be  deprived  of  any  office  he 
may  hold,  the  idea  being  that,  by  his  exhibition  of 
loss  of  self-control  and  dignity,  he  will  do  the  club 
discredit  in  a  representative  position.  Second, 
where  the  accident  results  from  carelessness  or 
clumsiness,  the  boy  should  pay  full  damages  but 
should  not  be  deprived  of  his  office.  The  atten- 
tion of  the  club,  however,  should  be  called  to  the 
fact  that  carelessness  and  clumsiness  unfit  a  man 
for  many  useful  positions,  such  as  game-keeper 
(an  honored  post),  for  example.  Third,  where  the 
damage  occurs  through  unavoidable  accident,  the 
whole  club  should  be  asked  to  contribute  volun- 
tarily toward  paying  the  debt  which  its  fellow- 
member  has  had  the  misfortune  to  incur. 

It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  know  just  how  much 
to  charge  the  boys  for  the  damage  done  by  them. 
The  decision  in  regard  to  the  amount  must  be 
purely  arbitrary  and  must  be  graded  according 
to  the  boy's  ability  to  pay.  Nothing  is  so  crush- 
ing to  the  spirits  or  so  destructive  to  self-respect 
as  a  debt  which,  through  no  fault  of  your  own,  it  is 
impossible  to  pay.     On  the  other  hand,  the  sum 


136  BOVS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

should  be  sufficiently  large  to  make  the  boy  feel 
the  pinch  and  inconvenience  of  self-denial.  What- 
ever sum  you  decide  upon,  he  should  believe  that 
it  represents  the  full  extent  of  his  indebtedness, 
for  it  would  be  demoralizing  if  he  found  that  you 
had  paid  his  debts  for  him. 

Quite  as  important  as  good  principles  are  self- 
control  and  strength  sufficient  to  put  these  princi- 
ples into  practice.  For  example,  when  the  boys 
realize  the  necessity  for  adapting  their  game  of 
base-ball  to  the  limitations  of  the  room,  a  tremen- 
dous amount  of  self-control  must  be  exercised  to 
play  the  game  in  this  unnatural  way.  The  habits 
of  years  make  it  instinctive  to  strike  the  ball  into 
the  air  and  not  along  the  ground.  For  a  long 
time  you  will  have  to  remind  the  boys  frequently 
of  the  changes  that  have  been  made  in  the  old, 
time-honored  rules  of  the  game ;  but  while  you 
must  never  let  up  in  your  insistence  that  the  new 
rules  be  obeyed,  in  your  own  heart  you  may  have 
the  comfort  of  sympathizing  with  them  in  their 
struggle,  and  even  admiring  them  for  succeeding 
as  well  as  they  do. 

Up  to  a  certain  point  arbitrary  discipline  de- 
velops genuine  self-control,  but  more  often  it 
merely  inculcates  the  habit  of  doing  what  one  has 
no  liking  for  doing.  For  instance,  early  rising 
may  be  at  first  a  painful  effort,  but   the  exigen- 


ETHICAL  LESSONS  OF  THE  PLAYGROUND     137 

cies  of  school  or  of  business  may  make  it  sec- 
ond nature  to  rise  at  a  certain  hour,  so  that  after 
the  first  no  conscious  effort  of  the  will  is  made  to 
cut  short  one's  morning  nap. 

Authority  exerted  by  a  strong  will  over  a  weaker 
one  sometimes  has  the  effect  of  weakening  still 
further  that  will  by  making  it  dependent.  One 
spring  a  club  of  mine  started  to  play  base-ball  in 
the  crowded  streets  where  they  lived.  I  deliber- 
ately pretended  not  to  know  it,  for  I  had  not  the 
heart  to  stop  what  seemed  to  give  so  much  pleas- 
ure and  to  do  so  little  damage,  principle  or  no 
principle.  But  the  boys  had  a  guilty  conscience 
about  it.  They  came  to  me  at  last  and  said, 
"  Please  tell  us  whether  it  is  right  to  play  base- 
ball in  the  streets."  My  sympathies  were  entirely 
with  the  boys,  and  I  never  felt  so  mean  as  when 
making  the  answer  which  it  seemed  to  me  right 
to  make.  "  Boys,"  I  said,  "  why  do  you  ask  me 
whether  it  is  right  or  wrong  to  play  ball  in  the 
streets .-'  You  know  as  well  as  I  do  what  laws  and 
ordinances  are  made  for,  and  you  know  there  is 
an  ordinance  against  ball-playing  in  the  streets  of 
New  York.  However,  if  you  choose  to  play,  there 
is  little  danger  for  you,  as  it  is  easy  to  evade  the 
policeman,  and  as  for  me,  I  shall  never  know 
whether  you  continue  to  play  or  not,  for  I  am 
going  home  this  minute.     You  must  decide  what 


138         BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

is  right  yourselves  and  then  live  up  to  it  or  not 
as  you  like." 

I  shall  never  forget  the  despairing  faces  that 
were  turned  to  me.  "  Oh,  Miss  Buck,"  they  said, 
"  if  you  would  only  forbid  us  to  do  it,  it  would  be 
so  much  easier y 

There  it  was  —  the  prop  of  the  stronger  will. 
Of  course  I  did  not  use  my  authority,  but  with 
contemptible  weakness  hurried  away  from  the 
scene.  I  learned  later,  however,  that  the  ball 
game  had  been  abandoned  on  that  day,  and  to  do 
it  must  have  taxed  their  will  power  to  the  utmost. 

If  your  boys  are  intelligent  and  have  self-con- 
trol, they  will  soon  learn  to  apply  all  the  new  ethi- 
cal principles  you  teach  them  instinctively  and 
without  conscious  effort. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ETHICAL    LESSONS    OF    THE    BUSINESS    MEETING 

As  I  have  already  said,  in  the  second  hour  of 
the  club  session  the  problems  which  are  to  be 
solved  and  the  principles  which  are  to  be  acquired 
are  more  complex  than  in  the  first  hour.  As  time 
goes  on,  the  lessons  of  the  second  hour  itself  grow 
more  complicated  —  or  rather,  as  the  perceptions 
of  the  boys  grow  keener,  they  learn  to  distinguish 
between  right  and  wrong  in  cases  increasingly 
involved,  and  the  most  harmless  act  of  one  year 
may  appear  to  them  a  downright  wrong-doing  the 
next. 

Now,  in  the  business  hour  as  in  the  play  hour, 
the  boys  will  either  learn  the  theory  of  a  principle 
first  and  then  see  by  concrete  lessons  and  ex- 
amples how  well  this  principle  works  in  practice, 
or  else  they  will  witness  some  occurrence  first  and 
afterwards  learn  the  principle  which  underlies  it. 

The  earliest  laws  of  the  club's  constitution  will 
embody  chiefly  the  theoretical  principles  of  the 
boys,  and  these  will  be  gradually  modified  in  ways 

139 


140         BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

suggested  by  the  experience  gained  in  testing  the 
practicability  of  these  theories. 

In  the  first  or  play  hour,  yoii  will  instil  into  the 
boys'  minds  all  principles,  theoretical  or  practical ; 
in  the  second  or  business  hour,  the  boys  will  work 
out  these  principles  for  themselves  by  discussion, 
under  the  inspiration  of  your  explanations  or  sug- 
gestive words. 

The  only  ethical  lessons,  whose  significance  the 
boys  will  be  able  to  perceive  at  an  early  stage  of 
their  development,  will  be  extremely  simple  and 
concrete.  The  first  will  be  the  lesson  of  politely 
taking  turns.  At  the  first  election  held  by  the 
Young  Citizens'  Social  Circle  half  the  boys  in  the 
room  rose  at  once  and  shouted  the  names  of  their 
favorite  candidates,  while  the  other  half  clamored 
for  the  floor.  The  result  was  that  no  one  voice 
could  be  heard  above  another.  It  was  quite  obvi- 
ous that,  unless  each  one  exerted  self-control  and 
awaited  his  turn  to  speak,  nothing  could  be  ac- 
complished in  the  limited  amount  of  time  at  the 
disposal  of  the  meeting. 

The  next  lesson  was  more  complicated.  One  of 
the  first  oflficers  to  be  elected  in  the  club  was  a 
treasurer.  This  youth  was  favorably  known  only 
because  he  had,  that  morning,  treated  every  one  to 
candy.  In  two  months  he  absconded  with  the 
money  the  club  was  saving  for  a  picnic.     It  finally 


LESSOA'S   OF  THE  BUSINESS  MEETING      141 

turned  out  that  his  reputation  for  honesty  had 
never  been  good,  but  the  glamour  created  by  his 
apparent,  generosity  had  effectively  obscured  this 
unpleasant  fact. 

Arbitrary  punishment  cannot  teach  such  effec- 
tive lessons  as  the  perfectly  natural  consequences 
of  wrong-doing. 1  In  such  a  case  as  that  recorded 
above,  not  only  are  the  dishonest  punished,  but  the 
foolish  and  thoughtless  are  victims  of  the  same 
consequences,  as  they  always  are  when  nature 
works  untrammelled  in  the  world.  The  perfectly 
innocent  minority,  too,  who  voted  with  the  utmost 
discretion,  suffer,  alas,  with  the  others.  But  even 
for  them  the  lesson  has  its  value,  for  it  teaches 
them  the  oneness  of  the  human  family,  and  de- 
monstrates the  fact  that  the  success  or  happiness 
of  one  is,  in  reality,  the  success  or  happiness  of  all. 
They  learn,  too,  that  ignorance  and  dishonesty  are 
dangerous,  not  only  to  the  ignorant  and  dishonest, 
but  to  the  wise  and  virtuous  as  well. 

The  punishment  meted  out  by  circumstances  to 
the  foolish  voters  is  apparent  in  the  loss  of  their 
hard-earned  savings.  But  what  is  the  fate  of  the 
defaulting  treasurer .''  What  are  the  natural  con- 
sequences of  his  wrong-doing  }  The  natural  conse- 
quences are  the  loss  of  respect  and  confidence  of 
his  fellow-members.     This  penalty  is  imposed  by 

^  See  Chapter  III  of  Herbert  Spencer's  "  Education." 


142  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

nature  and  cannot  be  evaded.  It  is  useless  for 
you  to  say  you  "  forgive "  him ;  the  matter  is 
entirely  out  of  your  hands.  You  cannot  change 
human  nature,  and  consequently  you  cannot 
guarantee  that,  at  a  word  from  you,  his  fellow-mem- 
bers will  cease  to  regard  him  with  distrust ;  and, 
until  this  distrust  is  conquered,  "  forgiveness "  is 
but  an  empty  word.  Nothing  could  be  weaker, 
stupider,  or  more  ineffective  to  cure  bad  habits 
than  for  an  adviser  to  shirk  the  trouble  of  treating 
a  delinquent  logically  and  simply  "forgive"  him. 
If  you  excuse  a  defaulting  treasurer  from  repaying 
the  stolen  money,  you  take  from  him  the  only 
means  he  can  have  of  regaining  his  self-respect 
and  the  confidence  of  his  fellows.  If  you  yourself 
treat  him  with  equal  confidence,  whether  he  acts 
honestly  or  dishonestly,  you  will  take  away  from 
him  a  powerful  incentive  to  honest  living.  He 
will  probably  think  either  that  you  do  not  know 
the  difference  between  right  and  wrong,  or  that  his 
influence  over  you  is  stronger  than  your  influence 
over  him.  In  any  event,  he  will  probably  end  by 
despising  you. 

In  the  case  of  stealing,  the  penalty  imposed  by 
nature  will  not  alone  insure  no  repetition  of  the 
offence.  How  to  treat  its  criminals  wisely  and 
justly  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  ethical  problems 
which  will   confront   your  club.     The  natural  in- 


LESSONS  OF  THE  BUSINESS  MEETING      143 

stinct  of  the  members  will  be  to  measure  the 
iniquity  of  the  offence  by  the  way  it  affects  them 
rather  <han  by  the  circumstances  which  have  influ- 
enced the  offender.  For  instance,  I  am  sure  from 
experience  that  the  members  of  the  Young  Citizens' 
Social  Circle  would  be  harder  upon  their  treasurer 
if  he  absconded  with  the  money  accumulated  for  a 
picnic  than  they  would  be  if  this  official  made  off 
with  the  savings  prudently  laid  aside  for  a  "  rainy 
day,"  Indeed,  children  are  not  the  only  people 
who  are  guilty  of  this  inconsistency.  Once  upon 
a  time  I  knew  a  small  boy  who  carelessly  broke  a 
vase  which  to  him  appeared  very  beautiful.  After 
making  a  tearful  confession  to  his  mother,  what 
was  his  surprise  to  receive  a  joyful  embrace  and 
words  of  gratitude  and  praise.  It  turned  out  that 
his  mother  abhorred  this  vase  and  only  placed  it 
on  exhibition  because  it  was  the  gift  of  a  frequent 
visitor.  Now,  a  personal  attitude  should  never  be 
taken  by  a  club  in  regard  to  wrong-doing.  The 
culprit  and  his  crime  should  be  considered  merely 
as  an  abstract  proposition.  The  question  of 
punishment  should  be  discussed  purely  with  a 
view  to  preserving  most  effectively  the  safety  of 
members  and  to  diverting  the  lawbreaker  from 
his  evil  courses. 

Boys   must  first   learn   to   distinguish   between 
serious  and   insignificant   misdemeanors.     In   the 


144  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

early  days  of  a  club  there  are  always  members 
who  will  vote  to  expel  a  boy  who  comes  to  meet- 
ings with  a  dirty  face,  and  others  who,  going 
to  the  opposite  extreme,  will  say,  *'  Oh,  give  him 
another  chance,"  when  an  habitual  thief  walks  off 
with  coats  or  money. 

After  deciding  whether  a  crime,  in  its  outward 
aspect,  appears  serious  or  not,  the  boys  must  learn 
to  grade  their  penalties  according  to  the  causes  of 
the  crime.  Was  the  temptation  very  severe,  such 
as  the  destitution  of  the  family,  for  instance .-' 
Was  it  a  first  offence  ?  Did  the  offender  appear 
to  realize  the  gravity  of  the  charge  against  him } 
Was  there  evidence  that  he  expected  to  be  able 
to  return  his  stealings .''  The  section  in  the  con- 
stitution which  relates  to  the  treatment  of  mis- 
demeanants says,  "  Any  boy  proved  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor  shall  be  suspended  or  expelled,  ac- 
cording to  the  judgment  of  the  club,"  so  the  club 
can  have  latitude  in  deciding  what  to  do  with  its 
lawbreakers.  If  it  is  a  boy's  first  offence  he 
should  lose  any  office  he  may  hold  and  should  be 
suspended  from  the  club  for  two  or  three  weeks. 
If  he  is  an  old  offender  he  must  be  expelled  for 
reasons  sufficiently  explained  in  Chapters  II  and 
VI.  If  it  is  discovered  that  the  treasurer  stole 
because  of  desperate  need  at  home,  both  expulsion 
and  suspension  may  be  omitted. 


LESSONS  OF  THE  BUSINESS  MEETING      145 

But,  as  I  have  said,  whatever  penalty  the  club 
may  think  best  to  impose  or  withhold,  a  thief  of 
any  kind  should  be  made  to  understand  that  he 
can  only  regain  the  respect  of  his  friends  by  re- 
turning every  cent  of  the  money  stolen,  and  that 
confidence  in  him  will  not  be  restored  until  he  has 
been  subjected  to  fresh  temptation  and  resisted  it. 
Even  if  a  boy  should  steal  to  save  his  family  from 
want,  he  should  pay  back  the  money  eventually. 
In  the  holidays,  schoolboys  can  nearly  always  get 
jobs  in  shops  or  factories,  and  in  this  way  they  can 
earn  about  three  dollars  a  week.  Selling  papers 
is  a  fairly  lucrative  undertaking  and  can  be  pur- 
sued in  odd  hours.  If  a  boy  is  already  working, 
and  requires  all  that  he  earns  for  the  support  of 
his  family,  the  adviser  should  make  work  for  him 
which  can  be  done  in  the  evenings,  and  which 
should  be  fairly  difficult  and  not  too  well  paid.  It 
must  appear  to  be  useful  work,  however,  and  some- 
thing for  which  the  adviser  is  glad  to  pay ;  for  it 
would  have  a  demoralizing  effect  if  a  boy  were  to 
suspect  that  work  and  wage  were  given  him  for 
charity. 

But  the  club  has  other  political  experiences. 
At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Citizens,  a  boy 
named  Harry,  as  you  may  remember,  was  elected 
president.  In  the  course  of  time  the  fact  leaked 
out  that  this  youth  had  promised,  in  the  event  of 


146  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

becoming  president,  to  give  honors  to  all  who 
voted  for  him.  He  received  his  office  and  pro- 
ceeded at  once  to  carry  out  the  pledges  of  his 
campaign.  Nine  boys  voted  for  him,  but  there 
were  only  four  or  five  legitimate  appointments 
which  he  could  make.  So,  in  order  to  satisfy  the 
demands  of  his  constituents,  he  appointed  whole 
committees  to  attend  to  the  work  which  was  not 
more  than  sufficient  to  keep  one  boy  occupied. 
For  instance,  instead  of  appointing  a  single,  com- 
petent gamekeeper,  who  could  be  held  responsible 
for  loss  or  damage,  he  created  a  game  committee 
of  three,  with  the  result  that  when  the  checker- 
board was  smashed  and  the  base-ball  lost  (which 
soon  happened)  no  one  knew  which  of  the  three 
was  to  blame  for  the  catastrophe. 

With  the  exception  of  steaUng,  bribery  is  the 
most  serious  and  most  frequent  crime  with  which 
club  boys  will  be  charged.  Boys  who  appear  so 
nice  in  other  ways  are  so  often  caught  buying  or 
selling  votes  that  I  conclude  their  doing  so  is  only 
a  manifestation  of  lack  of  perception.  Of  course, 
if  a  boy  is  guilty  of  bribery  after  the  wrongness 
of  it  has  been  explained  to  him,  he  can  justly  be 
considered  as  immoral. 

Children  and  elementary  grown  people  seem  to 
regard  bribery  as  legitimate  pay  for  useful  ser- 
vices.    If  I  tell  Mosey  that  he  may  have  all  the 


LESSONS  OF  THE  BUSINESS  MEETING      147 

fruit  he  can  bring  down  from  the  top  of  my  apple 
tree,  he  will,  if  the  first  branches  are  rather  high 
from  the  ground,  call  his  friends  and  say,  "  Give 
me  a  boost  up  to  that  first  bough,  and  I  will  give 
you  an  apple  apiece  from  among  those  I  bring 
down."  An  office  is  regarded  by  unthinking  peo- 
ple as  something  created  for  the  glory  of  the  in- 
cumbent, and  a  vote  as  something  to  make  a 
humble  man  feel  of  some  importance ;  both  are 
commodities  as  naturally  for  sale  as  apples. 

In  connection  with  a  charge  for  bribery  the 
adviser  will  have  the  chance  to  instil  into  the  boys' 
minds  the  first  principles  of  poHtical  honesty, 
which  means  ethics  and  altruism  of  the  high- 
est sort.  It  will  surprise  most  of  the  boys  to 
learn  that  votes  and  offices  should  never  be  for 
sale,  but  it  will  amaze  them  even  more  to  learn 
that  they  must  sacrifice  what  seem  to  them  their 
highest  feelings  in  order  that  their  vote  may  go  to 
benefit  the  stranger  public.  The  other  day  a  big 
boy,  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  old,  told  me,  with 
a  face  which  beamed  with  piety,  that  he  had  just 
voted  for  a  most  undesirable  presidential  candidate 
in  his  club  because  the  candidate  was  his  friend, 
and  to  vote  for  him  was  consequently  a  sweet  and 
sacred  duty.  He  stared  at  me  blankly  when  I 
asked  him  what  right  he  had  to  sacrifice  the  wel- 
fare of  the  club  for  the  sake  of  gratifying  his  own 


148  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERJVING   CLUBS 

emotions.  "  But  is  not  friendship  a  beautiful 
thing,"  he  asked,  "  and  is  it  not  one's  duty  to  stick 
to  a  friend  through  thick  and  thin  ?  "  "  Certainly," 
I  answered,  "  up  to  the  point  where  others  be- 
sides yourselves  are  involved.  When  other  people 
are  made  to  suffer  in  order  that  your  love  may 
prosper  it  is  time  to  stop.  A  vote  is  a  sacred 
trust  to  humanity.  It  represents  your  voice  and 
power  in  a  cause  which  will  affect  the  happiness 
of  humanity.  Friendship  and  even  parenthood 
should  not  influence  you  against  taking  the  side 
which  seems  to  you  to  be  best  for  the  welfare 
of  humanity.  In  the  great  war  of  the  Rebellion 
father  fought  against  son  in  battle,  and  each  be- 
lieved that  what  seemed  to  him  the  welfare  of  the 
country  outweighed  in  importance  all  considera- 
tions of  his  own  personal  affections." 

I  once  had  a  talk  with  a  "yellow-journal"  re- 
porter on  the  political  situation  of  the  moment, 
and  in  the  course  of  this  talk  he  said,  "  God  help 
us  when  a  father  can  no  longer  bribe  a  judge  to 
acquit  his  guilty  son."  This  anecdote  invariably 
shocks  people  to  whom  I  tell  it,  and  yet  they 
admit  that  if  they  knew  their  sons  were  guilty, 
and  were  to  be  condemned  to  death  or  imprison- 
ment, they  would  certainly  bribe  the  judge,  the 
jury  and  all  the  witnesses.  Now,  it  can  scarcely 
be  expected  that  in  our  present  stage  of  altruistic 


LESSONS  OF  THE  BUSINESS  MEETING      149 

development  we  should  be  willing  to  sacrifice  our 
own  feelings  to  the  extent  of  giving  a  son  to 
certain,  death  or  misery  for  the  sake  of  saving 
the  public  at  large  from  possible  death  or  misery 
in  the  future,  but,  nevertheless,  young  people 
should  be  trained  to  look  at  every  situation  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  welfare  of  the  public 
rather  than  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  own 
feelings. 

A  club  will  seldom  be  averse  to  doing  a  kindly 
and  unselfish  act  if  the  loss  to  itself  is  not  too 
great  and  the  gain  for  the  public  is  immediate 
and  definite.  The  following  suggestive  discussion 
I  once  heard  in  a  little  club  in  Boston,  where  the 
adviser  had  been  himself  a  club  boy  (a  Young 
Potomac,  part  of  the  time)  for  many  years.  The 
discussion  at  the  business  meeting  that  night 
turned  upon  a  proposition  made  by  one  of  the 
members  that  they  (the  club)  should  petition  the 
school  authorities  to  allow  them  to  hold  their 
meetings  in  a  schoolhouse. 

"  Shall  we  take  in  other  clubs  if  we  get  per- 
mission to  use  a  school .'' "  one  boy  asked. 

"We'd  have  more  fun  alone,"  another  answered. 

"  But  wouldn't  it  be  piggish  to  keep  them  out 
when  we  had  more  space  than  we  actually 
needed  .-*  "  suggested  another. 

"  But,"   went   on  the    sceptic,   "  the   board   will 


150  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

hold  us  responsible  for  damage ;  and  in  that  case 
we  should  have  to  pay  for  all  the  windows  broken 
by  the  strangers  if  they  refused  to  pay." 

"  But  some  one  is  responsible  for  our  damage 
here,"  another  boy  replied.  "  Can't  we  be  gener- 
ous, too,  and  pass  on  a  good  thing  we've  been  so 
fortunate  as  to  have  had  given  us  t " 

But  all  the  discussions  of  the  club  are  not  on 
such  a  high  plane  of  philosophy  and  ethics  as 
those  I  have  quoted.  Most  practical  problems 
in  regard  to  the  wise  and  economical  expenditure 
of  money,  for  example,  constantly  confront  the 
club.  Quite  recently  I  heard  one  of  the  older, 
East  Side  clubs  wrestling  with  the  problem  of 
how  to  lay  out  to  the  best  advantage  five  dollars 
which  was  to  be  appropriated  annually  for  books. 
Some  of  the  boys  claimed  that  it  would  be  best 
to  subscribe  to  the  travelling  library  operated  by 
the  state.  By  so  doing  they  would  have  access 
during  the  year  to  an  almost  indefinite  number 
of  books  on  any  chosen  subject.  But  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  plan  pointed  out  the  fact  that  at 
the  end  of  the  year  there  would  be  nothing 
tangible  to  show  for  their  money,  whereas,  if  they 
bought  a  few  books,  in  the  course  of  time  they 
would  possess  a  nice  little  library.  I  have  never 
been  able  to  decide  which  I  think  the  wiser  plan, 
and  I  do  not  remember  what  was  the  decision  of 


LESSONS  OF  THE  BUSINESS  MEETING      151 

the  club,  but  every  one  can  see  how  useful  such 
practical  discussions  must  be. 

A  year  or  two  before,  I  had  heard  in  this  same 
club  a  discussion  which  was  quite  remarkable  in 
showing  the  common-sense  reasoning  of  which 
some  of  the  boys  were  capable.  This  club  had 
had  very  bad  luck  with  its  game  supplies.  The 
new  foot-ball  had  only  survived  two  games  and 
the  boxing-gloves  as  many  rounds.  No  money 
was  in  hand  for  the  purchase  of  new  games  and 
the  boys  could  think  of  no  way  in  which  to 
replenish  the  treasury  (the  "  Entertainment "  did 
not  come  off  for  three  months)  but  to  raise  the 
dues.  But,  of  course,  this  suggestion  met  with 
great  opposition.  One  boy  said  that  higher  dues 
would  bar  out  of  the  club  some  of  the  brightest 
members  who  happened  to  be  poor. 

Another  said,  "  Look  at  Spain.  See  what  high 
taxes  have  done  for  that  country.  The  people  were 
so  weary  with  the  burden  of  taxes  that  they  could 
not  put  up  a  decent  fight  with  the  United  States." 

At  that  a  third  boy  sprang  to  his  feet. 

"  It  was  not  the  highness  of  the  taxes  in  Spain 
which  brought  about  the  downfall  of  that  country. 
It  was  the  way  those  taxes  were  spent.  The  taxes 
went  for  old  tubs  of  war  vessels  and  for  gunners 
who  couldn't  shoot  straight.  What  we  need  in 
this  club  is  not  high  dues  but  a  committee  which 


152  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

won't  spend  them  for  paper  foot-balls  and  boxing- 
gloves  stuffed  with  sawdust." 

Through  the  constant  discussion  of  the  right 
and  wrong  of  every  act  the  boys  grow  more  criti- 
cal of  what  constitutes  right  and  wrong.  Their 
sharpened  perceptions  finally  lead  them  into  con- 
sidering questions  of  good  taste  in  conduct.  A 
rather  amusing  instance  of  this  sort  of  acuteness 
once  occurred  in  the  Potomac  Club.  This  organi- 
zation "  ran  off "  (as  they  expressed  it)  once  a  year 
a  "  Grand  Annual  Ball  and  Entertainment"  for  the 
benefit  of  no  one  in  the  world  but  the  Young  Po- 
tomac Club.  In  their  eagerness  to  make  money, 
the  boys  had  been  in  the  habit  of  inveigling  grown- 
up, "  up-town  "  people,  who  had  no  intention  of 
coming  to  the  entertainment,  into  buying  some- 
times a  dozen  ten-  or  fifteen-cent  tickets.  I  once 
suggested  that  this  was  nothing  better  than  ac- 
cepting charity,  but  none  of  the  boys  seemed  at 
that  time  to  understand  my  point  of  view.  "  We 
give  them  an  equivalent  for  their  money,  do  we 
not .?  "  they  asked,  "  and  if  they  do  not  choose  to 
make  use  of  this  equivalent  it  is  their  lookout,  not 
ours."  Now,  it  is  one  of  the  principles  of  the 
club  not  to  force  a  boy  to  act  above  his  own  con- 
victions, so  I  dropped  the  matter  at  the  time  and 
only  hoped  that  my  words  had  made  some  latent 
impression  upon  them.     This,  in  fact,  turned  out 


LESSONS  OF  THE  BUSINESS  MEETING      153 

to  be  the  case ;  for  the  following  year,  when  plans 
for  a  new  entertainment  were  making,  one  of  the 
leaders  arose  at  the  meeting  and  made  a  speech 
in  which  he  quoted  all  that  I  had  said  the  previous 
year,  and  added  many  of  his  own  thoughts  on  the 
subject.  In  conclusion,  he  said  :  "  I  do  not  know 
exactly  what  there  is  that  is  bad  about  selling 
tickets  like  that.  It  isn't  exactly  dishonest.  I 
guess  it  simply  isn't  high-toned;  "  and,  although 
it  meant  the  loss  of  many  dollars  to  the  club,  all 
the  boys  voted  that  the  practice  of  selling  tickets 
to  people  who  obviously  wouldn't  use  them  should 
be  discontinued. 

It  may  be  thought  that  these  boys  were  excep- 
tionally bright  or  that  they  had  unusually  sugges- 
tive openings  for  good  discussion  in  their  clubs. 
I  do  not  think  so.  There  is  in  anything  that 
happens  in  a  club  just  so  much  philosophy  as 
may  be  seen  in  it.  If  boys  were  to  be  left  alone 
to  work  out  ethical  propositions  for  themselves 
they  would  not  get  far,  but  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  adviser  constantly  to  guide  the  talk  in  the 
right  direction  —  to  say  the  word  that  will  start  a 
train  of  thought.  If  such  a  word  touches  a  boy's 
mind  on  a  vital  spot,  a  whole  series  of  scattered 
thoughts  and  impressions  will  be  thereby  quickened. 

Now,  it  is,  of  course,  important  that  thoughts 
and   impressions   should   be   quickened,    but    the 


154  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

greatest  benefit  to  the  intellect  comes  through 
the  effort  to  formulate  these  thoughts  and  im- 
pressions into  logical  ideas,  and  to  express  these 
ideas  in  speech.  "  Train  and  perfect  the  gift  of 
speech,  unfold  all  that  is  in  it,  and  you  train  at 
the  same  time  the  power  of  thought  and  of  intel- 
lectual sympathy,"  says  Professor  J.  R.  Seeley  in 
one  of  his  essays.  It  has  been  my  experience, 
too,  that  when  a  normal  boy  has  successfully  put 
his  ideas  (if  they  are  right  ones)  into  eloquent 
words,  these  ideas  become  convictions ;  and  a  nor- 
mal boy  will  seldom  do  what  he  has  convinced  him- 
self is  wrong,  foolish  or  not  "  high-toned." 


CHAPTER   IX 

OUTSIDE    ACTIVITIES    OF    THE    CLUB 

If  we  all  agree  that  it  is  important  for  boys  to 
know  how  to  amuse  themselves  while  at  leisure, 
the  adviser  may  profitably  spend  considerable  time, 
outside  the  regular  hours  of  the  club  session,  in 
demonstrating  those  legitimate  pleasures  which 
come  within  the  means  and  understandings  of  his 
prot^g^s. 

In  the  playground  hour  the  boys  should  learn 
to  play  as  many  games  as  possible.  Some  of  the 
table  games  should  be  so  cheap  that  the  boys  can 
afford  to  buy  similar  ones  for  use  in  their  own 
homes.  Such  active  games  as  prisoner's  base, 
fox-and-geese  or  puss-in-the-corner  are  so  inferior 
to  basket-ball,  base-ball,  hockey  or  foot-ball  that 
it  is  usually  not  worth  while  to  let  them  occupy 
a  large  part  of  the  club  playground  ;  but,  never- 
theless, the  boys  should  learn  to  play  these  games, 
for  they  are  among  the  few  which  do  not  seriously 
disturb  people  in  the  quieter  city  streets,  and  in 
the  streets  the  average  club  boy  will  spend  much 
of  his  time, 

155 


156  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

No  game  in  which  the  only  factor  in  winning  is 
luck  should  be  allowed  in  a  club  of  boys  over  twelve 
years  old.  A  game  which  requires  skill  may  be  en- 
joyed for  its  own  sake,  but  a  game  of  pure  luck 
almost  inevitably  becomes  flat  and  uninteresting 
without  a  money  stake.  Because  of  the  danger  of 
encouraging  a  mercenary  spirit  in  games  it  is  even 
best  not  to  offer  a  prize  in  a  competition  unless  it  be 
something  like  a  banner,  which  has  no  material  use 
or  value,  and  which  (as  it  will  decorate  the  walls  of 
the  club-room)  will  redound  to  the  credit  of  the 
club  as  a  whole  rather  than  to  any  individual. 

It  is  well  to  stimulate  a  spectator's  interest  in 
all  games  and  sports.  The  adviser  should  take  his 
boys  to  see  the  professional  base-ball  games,  college 
foot-ball  games,  polo  matches  and  yacht  races,  and 
he  should  explain  all  the  finer  points  of  play.  An 
appreciative  interest  in  watching  games  and  sports 
will  prove  a  mine  of  pleasure  to  people  who  have 
long  since  ceased  to  take  any  active  part  in  ath- 
letics. 

I  have  said  in  another  chapter  that  a  love  of 
the  country  was,  with  some  boys,  an  acquired,  not 
an  inborn,  taste.  While  in  all  my  clubs  a  day's 
outing  to  the  Bronx  or  to  Central  Park  was  one  of 
the  most  popular  ways  of  spending  the  accumulated 
contents  of  the  treasury,  there  were  always  two  or 


OUTSIDE  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  CLUB      157 

three  boys  who  at  first  could  only  be  decoyed  into 
joining  such  expeditions  by  the  promise  of  choice 
food  or  entertainment.  Eventually,  most  of  them 
became  enthusiastic  country  lovers,  but  this  happy 
result  was  attained  only  after  strenuous  efforts  on 
the  part  of  their  adviser. 

The  first  thing  to  do  will  be  to  get  the  sceptics 
to  the  country  at  any  cost,  and  the  second  will  be, 
to  use  a  slang  phrase,  to  give  them  "  the  time  of 
their  lives  "  when  they  get  there.  Tempting  viands 
will  warm  the  hearts  and  susceptibilities  of  the 
worst  of  Philistines,  so  the  adviser  must  provide 
himself  with  a  generous  supply  of  fruit  and  cakes. 
(The  boys  bring  for  themselves  the  more  solid  and 
staple  articles  of  food.) 

Many  boys  do  not  care  for  the  country  because, 
when  they  get  there,  they  do  not  know  what  to 
do  with  themselves.  The  adviser  should  be 
skilled  in  discerning  the  entertaining  possibilities 
of  field  and  forest.  Even  in  the  hottest  weather 
a  bonfire  is  delightful,  and  nothing  equals  the 
pleasure  of  roasting  potatoes  and  apples  upon  it. 
Tree-climbing  will  be  a  novelty  to  many  boys, 
but  the  aptitude  for  it  will  only  be  latent  and 
will  grow  with  opportunity.  If  there  is  a  sheet  of 
water  near,  the  boys  should  be  taught  to  row,  fish, 
swim  and  sail.  A  part  of  any  day's  outing  should 
be  devoted  to  a  foot-ball  or  base-ball  (according  to 


158  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

the  season)  match  between  opposing  halves  of  the 
club  or  with  teams  from  rival  clubs. 

If  you  can  do  it,  you  should  arrange  to  let  your 
boys  spend  several  days  and  nights  in  the  country. 
Much  of  their  happiness  there  will  depend  on 
whether  you  can  stay  with  them.  There  is  too 
great  a  tendency  in  "fresh-air"  enterprises  to  try 
to  make  children  happy  by  wholesale,  and  by 
machine,  as  it  were.  Most  children  —  even  big 
boys  —  are  homesick  away  from  their  families, 
but  if  they  have  with  them  some  familiar  friend 
like  yourself,  this  form  of  suffering  is  reduced  to 
a  minimum.  All  boys  over  twelve  should  pay  at 
least  1^1.50  a  week  for  board  while  making  a 
"fresh-air"  visit,  for  you  cannot  begin  too  early 
to  teach  them  to  despise  unnecessary  charitable 
assistance.  Any  boy  of  this  age  can  earn  the 
required  sum  by  selling  papers  or  by  working  in 
a  shop  for  a  week.  In  most  cases  the  parents 
will  be  willing  to  pay  for  such  an  advantage. 
Of  course,  if  you  invite  boys  as  friends  to  visit 
you  in  your  home,  they  need  not  pay  board,  but 
there  is  then  no  reason  why  they  should  not  raise 
sufficient  money  for  their  railroad  tickets. 

Some  boys  have  no  desire  to  see  what  a  long 
visit  to  the  country  is  like.  They  are  afraid 
of  the  black  nights,  of  tramps  or  of  simple  ennui. 
The  only  way  to  cure  them  of   their  fears  is  to 


OUTSIDE  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  CLUB      159 

give  them  an  actual  experience  in  the  country,  and 
to  do  this  it  may  be  necessary  to  pay  for  their 
board  yourself.  The  same  boys  should  never  be 
treated  twice,  however.  If  a  boy  is  ever  to  be 
capable  of  appreciating  the  country,  he  will  only 
need  to  visit  it  once  under  pleasant  circum- 
stances. 

Social  talents  generally  are  developed  by  the 
club.  It  begins  with  the  formation  of  friendships 
between  the  boys  and  advances  to  the  stage  of 
hospitality.  Hospitality  is  not  popular  at  first. 
Why,  the  boys  ask,  should  we  buy  a  double  quan- 
tity of  ice-cream  for  outsiders  when  we  have 
never  yet  had  all  we  wanted  ourselves }  How- 
ever, the  more  generous  spirits  usually  prevail, 
and  all  good  clubs  vote  to  give  a  "  party "  once 
a  year.  I  shall  never  forget  the  first  of  these 
entertainments  given  by  a  club  whose  name  I 
shall  not  betray.  After  a  generous  supply  of  ice- 
cream had  been  purchased  all  sense  of  responsi- 
bility for  the  entertainment  of  guests  was  cast 
aside.  The  members  unblushingly  carried  off  all 
the  prizes  in  contests  which  had  been  planned 
to  afford  amusement  for  friends  and  relatives, 
and  during  the  refreshment  hour  all  the  members 
huddled  together  and  gobbled  ice-cream,  turning 
their  backs  upon  their  unfortunate  guests.     How- 


l6o  BOYS'    SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

ever,  after  these  parties  had  been  frequently 
repeated,  and  the  methods  of  the  hosts  had  been 
mercilessly  criticised,  the  boys'  manners  became 
more  polished.  These  same  boys,  now  nearly  grown 
up,  find  cooperative  hospitality  to  be  one  of  their 
greatest  pleasures,  and  one  cannot  but  admire  the 
tactful  manner  in  which  they  have  learned  to  har- 
monize all  elements  when  their  assemblage  of 
friends  is  composed  of  people  of  both  sexes  and 
all  ages  and  classes. 

A  frequent  indulgence  in  picnics  and  parties 
would  soon  deplete  an  average  club  treasury  if 
the  club  were  dependent  for  all  revenue  upon  the 
dues  of  its  members.  Fortunately,  there  remains 
a  financial  resource  in  the  "  Grand  Annual  Ball 
and  Entertainment "  which,  as  its  name  implies, 
may  be  given  yearly  by  any  active  and  capable 
club.  The  usual  programme  of  this  important 
function  is  as  follows  :  — 

Part  I 

Address  of  welcome  by  the  president  of  the  club. 
Violin  solo  with  piano  accompaniment. 
Recitation.  Clog  dance. 

Songs.  Songs. 

Dialogue.  Recitation. 

Violin  solo. 


OUTSIDE  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  CLUB      i6l 

Part  II 
A  one-act  play  or  farce. 

Part  III 

General  dancing.     The  order  of  the  dances  usually  ap- 
pears on  the  programme. 

Tickets  for  this  performance  are  sold  by  the 
members  for  from  ten  to  twenty-five  cents  apiece, 
and,  on  the  lower  East  Side  of  New  York,  al- 
though there  are  hundreds  of  such  entertainments 
every  year,  I  have  never  known  one  in  which  the 
boys  did  not  sell  a  sufficient  number  of  tickets  to 
pay  their  expenses,  and  few  in  which  they  did  not 
make  a  profit  of  from  five  to  twenty-five  dollars. 

When  it  is  decided  to  have  an  entertainment  the 
president  appoints  a  stage  manager  and  a  floor  man- 
ager, and  the  success  of  the  entertainment  will 
depend  largely  upon  the  capability  of  these  two 
officials.  The  stage  manager  and  the  floor  manager 
between  chem  engage  the  hall  for  the  entertain- 
ment, the  person  who  is  to  play  for  the  dancing, 
and  some  one  to  take  charge  of  hat  checks. 

The  stage  manager  is  ultimately  responsible  for 
everything  connected  with  the  performance  on  the 

M 


l62  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

Stage,  but  he  divides  most  of  the  actual  work 
among  three  officials — a  programme  maker,  a  play 
director,  and  a  property  man — whom  he  himself 
appoints. 

The  programme  maker  goes  among  the  members 
and  makes  a  list  of  all  the  "talents"  among  them 
and  also  takes  the  names  of  talented  friends,  whom 
he  interviews  with  regard  to  their  willingness  to  con- 
tribute their  services  to  the  entertainment.  When 
he  has  the  names  of  ten  or  fifteen  promising  can- 
didates for  a  place  on  the  programme,  he  calls  for  a 
trial  of  their  abilities  before  the  stage  manager  and 
himself.  Each  "  talent  "  performs  his  little  piece 
and  is  accepted  or  rejected  according  to  his  merits. 
When  a  sufficient  number  have  been  chosen  the 
tentative  plan  of  Part  I  of  the  programme  must  be 
approved  by  the  club  as  a  whole.  Finally,  the  ad- 
viser looks  it  over,  hears  the  boys  say  their  pieces, 
criticises  and  rehearses  them,  and,  if  necessary, 
takes  their  parts  away  from  them. 

When,  at  last,  a  Part  I  is  planned  that  is  satis- 
factory to  all,  the  play  director  has  sent  in  the 
name  of  the  play  and  its  cast  for  Part  II  and  the 
floor  manager  has  made  out  his  "order  of  dances  " 
for  Part  III,  the  programme  maker  should  make 
out  a  complete  draught  of  his  programme,  and 
from  several  printers  get  estimates  of  the  cost  of 
printing  so  and  so  many  copies  of  it.     When  one 


OUTSIDE  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  CLUB      163 

of  these  estimates  has  been  approved  by  the  club, 
he  will  be  responsible  for  having  the  printed  pro- 
grammes ready  for  the  entertainment. 

The  play  director  is  supposed  to  hunt  up  a  suit- 
able play  for  the  boys  to  act  in  Part  II  of  the 
evening's  performance,  but  the  adviser  will  be 
more  likely  to  select  it.  When  a  play  is  chosen 
the  play  director,  the  adviser,  and  the  stage  man- 
ager consult  together  about  the  assignment  of 
parts,  and  when  the  cast  has  been  decided  upon 
the  play  director  drills  the  boys  until  they  are 
letter  perfect  in  their  lines.  The  adviser  conducts 
the  regular  stage  rehearsals,  but  he  cannot  coach 
the  boys  in  the  art  of  acting  until  they  know  their 
lines  faultlessly.  The  play  director  sees  that  the 
actors  are  prompt  and  regular  in  their  attendance 
at  these  rehearsals. 

A  taste  for  acting  will  probably  not  survive  the 
period  of  young  manhood,  but  while  it  lasts  it  is 
absorbingly  pleasurable.  A  person  who  has  acted 
himself,  in  ever  so  humble  a  capacity,  will  take  a 
more  discriminating  interest  in  the  professional 
stage  than  one  who  has  always  been  merely  an  on- 
looker. It  is  needless  to  say  that  discriminating 
audiences  will  be  the  first  to  demand  the  so-called 
"  elevation  "  (artistic,  at  least)  of  the  stage. 

Now,  boys  of  about  twelve,  who  have  never  acted 
before,  will  require  a  short  piece  which  is  rather 


l64  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

more  a  farce  than  a  genuine  comedy,  and  one 
which  is  drawn  on  very  simple,  broad  lines.  "  No 
Pay,  No  Cure  "  (Samuel  French  &  Son,  New  York), 
a  farce  which  some  of  the  boys  discovered  them- 
selves, was  usually  the  first  play  acted  by  East 
Side  clubs.  While  it  is  harmless  it  is  unnecessarily 
silly,  and  almost  any  bright  boy  would  be  capable 
of  learning  something  stronger.  "Wanted  :  A  Con- 
fidential Clerk"  (William  Roorbach,  132  Nassau 
St.,  New  York)  belongs  to  a  slightly  higher  plane 
of  art.  Some  of  it  is  horse  play,  and  the  fun  is  far 
from  subtle,  but  it  is  harmless  and  teaches  the 
first  principles  of  appearing  effectively  on  the 
stage  and  really  requires  a  certain  amount  of  skill. 
Each  part  is  spoken  in  the  broken  English  of  some 
foreigner,  and  the  action,  characteristic  speeches 
and  costumes  are  appropriate  to  each  part.  The 
play  of  "  Box  and  Cox  "  calls  a  much  greater  variety 
of  talents  into  requisition.  In  facial  expression 
alone  it  affords  an  opportunity  for  great  cleverness. 
The  female  character's  part  in  this  play  can  well  be 
taken  by  a  boy  dressed  as  a  woman. 

For  bright  boys  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  I  can  recom- 
mend "The  Rice  Pudding"  (Walter  Baker  &  Co., 
Boston)  ;  "  Mr.  Bob  "  (same  publisher)  ;  "  Ici  on 
parle  Frangais "  (Samuel  French  &  Son,  New 
York) ;  and  several  of  the  plays  of  Mr.  John  Ken- 
drick  Banofs.     The  scenic  effects  called  for  in  all 


OUTSIDE  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  CLUB      165 

of  these  are  simple,  and  not  too  many  people  are  re- 
quired to  appear  on  the  stage  at  the  same  moment. 
All  of'  these  plays  call  for  female  parts,  but  the 
love-making  is  only  a  momentary  and  minor  inci- 
dent in  their  plots. 

A  book  published  by  French,  New  York,  called 
"  Guide  to  Selecting  Plays  ;  or  Managers'  Com- 
panion "  (twenty-five  cents),  gives  descriptive  and 
classified  lists  of  plays  suitable  for  all  kinds  of  per- 
formers and  is  of  value  to  any  stage  manager. 

The  duties  of  the  property  man  (the  last  of  the 
stage  manager's  appointees)  are  easily  imagined. 
When  a  play  is  decided  upon  this  personage  holds 
a  consultation  with  the  adviser  and  stage  manager, 
and  together  they  make  out  a  list  of  the  furniture, 
costumes,  make-up,  etc.,  which  will  be  required  to 
stage  the  play.  The  adviser  can  probably  lend  a 
great  many  of  the  things  needed ;  but  everything 
else  the  property  man  must  guarantee  to  have  on 
hand  for  the  final  rehearsal.  If  wigs  or  the  more 
elaborate  costumes  are  to  be  hired,  he  must  submit 
an  estimate  of  their  cost  for  the  club's  approval. 
If  the  adviser  is  a  woman,  and  is  ingenious,  she  can 
do  wonders  in  the  way  of  wig-making  with  horse- 
hair, tow,  rope  ravellings,  or  cotton  wool  and  will 
be  able  to  save  the  club  a  great  expense. 

The  requirements  of  the  stage  are  now  pretty 
well  fulfilled,  and  we  can  turn  our  attention  to  the 


l66  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

management  of  that  part  of  the  entertainment 
which  appertains  to  the  "floor." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  president 
of  the  club  appointed  a  stage  manager  he  also  ap- 
pointed a  floor  manager.  The  floor  manager  makes 
out  the  order  of  dances  for  the  evening,  and  he 
appoints  the  following  assistants  :  a  chair  mover,  a 
head  usher  and  a  ticket  man.  The  chair  mover 
(with  assistants  whom  he  chooses  himself)  comes 
to  the  hall  early  in  the  afternoon  of  the  entertain- 
ment and  sees  that  the  chairs  (which  he  may  have 
had  to  hire  or  borrow)  are  arranged  in  neat  rows 
with  proper  aisles  between.  When  the  "  stage  " 
part  of  the  entertainment  is  over  and  the  *'  floor  " 
part  is  about  to  begin,  the  chair  mover  and  his  men 
remove  the  seats  from  the  centre  of  the  hall  and 
arrange  them  along  the  walls.  He  will  also  sweep 
up  the  dust  and  peanut  shells  which  will  have  ac- 
cumulated under  the  chairs. 

The  head  usher  appoints  as  many  ushers  as  he 
thinks  are  needed.  Their  duties  are  to  show  the 
arriving  audience  to  its  seats  and  to  distribute 
programmes.  These  youths  wear  large  rosettes  in 
their  buttonholes  and  are  altogether  very  impres- 
sive. Their  post  is  really  a  sinecure,  but  is  full  of 
glory  and  consequently  much  sought  after. 

The  ticket  man's  duties  are  fairly  onerous.  He 
decides  what  words  shall  be  on  the  tickets,  and, 


OUTSIDE  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  CLUB       167 

with  the  authority  of  the  club,  orders  and  pays  for 
the  printing  of  them.  He  keeps  a  strict  account 
of  every  ticket  given  to  a  member  to  sell,  and 
when  the  entertainment  is  over  he  must  see  that 
each  member  returns  the  tickets  given  him  or  an 
equivalent  in  money.  As  the  entertainment  is  in 
progress  he  stands  by  the  door  and  takes  tickets 
from  people  as  they  enter. 

The  organizing  and  running  of  such  an  enter- 
tainment develops  marvellously  the  executive 
ability  and  sense  of  responsibility.  Only  boys  of 
real  character  and  intelligence  will  be  able  to  make 
such  an  entertainment  successful,  but  any  boy  will 
gain  much  valuable  knowledge  and  experience 
from  the  attempt  to  put  through  the  performance. 

Every  club  I  have  known  has  tried  to  publish  a 
monthly  magazine.  Usually  about  three  very  full 
issues  of  this  periodical  would  appear  and  then, 
for  lack  of  further  contributions,  it  would  die 
amidst  the  reproachful  wails  of  the  editors.  All  the 
work  of  preparing  this  journal  would  be  done  out- 
side of  club  hours,  although  the  finished  product 
was  always  read  at  the  business  meetings  after  the 
business  had  been  disposed  of.  The  contents 
would  be  varied  in  character  and  would  range 
from  essays  on  Emerson  to  witty  personal  jokes 
on  the  members   and   other   hits  of    purely  local 


l68  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

interest.  If  the  adviser  can  give  time  outside  of 
club  hours  to  helping  the  editors,  such  a  magazine 
can  be  made  very  instructive. 

It  is  an  excellent  thing  for  a  club  of  boys  if 
their  adviser  will  show  them  the  various  points  of 
interest  in  their  city.  Each  year  a  systematic 
plan  of  sight-seeing  could  be  undertaken  on  one 
Saturday  afternoon  a  month,  let  us  say.  For 
example,  during  the  first  year,  the  aquarium  and 
zoological  garden,  and  all  the  museums  and 
libraries  could  be  visited.  In  the  second  year  trips 
to  the  historical  points  in  the  city  could  be  under- 
taken. Another  year  could  be  devoted  to  beautiful 
churches,  buildings,  and  monuments ;  and  last, 
when  the  boys  are  fairly  mature,  they  could  attend 
the  public  meetings  of  the  various  city  departments 
after  having  had  the  functions  of  these  depart- 
ments explained  to  them  by  their  adviser. 

A  knowledge  of  all  that  exists  in  a  great  city  for 
the  profit  and  advantage  not  of  the  individual  but 
of  the  people,  is  a  necessary  preliminary  to  the 
inculcation  of  public  spirit  among  the  boys. 
Without  cant  or  sentimentality  the  adviser  should 
teach  them  the  delight  of  taking  an  interest  in  the 
happiness  and  welfare  of  other  people,  and  this 
interest  should  not  be    an   abstract    one    merely. 


OUTSIDE  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  CLUB      169 

There  are  many  things  that  very  young  fellows 
can  do  to  help  along  altruistic  movements.  At 
the  University  Settlement  two  or  three  of  the 
advisers  constantly  sought  for  opportunities  to 
utilize  the  voluntary  services  of  club  members. 
For  instance,  whenever  the  meetings  of  certain 
educational  societies  were  held  the  boys  would  be 
asked  to  take  tickets  at  the  doors  and  distribute 
programmes.  At  one  time  a  playground  society 
wanted  signatures  to  a  petition  for  a  small  park, 
and  the  clubs  of  the  district  worked  hard  to  get 
friends  and  neighbors  to  subscribe  their  names. 
The  members  of  the  older  clubs  frequently  volun- 
teered their  services  as  teachers  or  assistant 
advisers  in  their  own  or  other  settlements,  and 
sometimes  they  gave  entertainments  to  raise 
money  for  some  philanthropic  scheme. 

Do  not  suppose  that  I  would  have  your  boys 
encouraged  to  undertake  the  complicated  and 
frightfully  difficult  task  of  administering  charity. 
On  the  contrary,  they  will  have  already  a  natural 
predilection  for  almsgiving  in  its  most  pernicious 
form,  and  this  predilection  should  be  sternly 
repressed. 

It  is  just  as  important  that  a  child  should  per- 
ceive the  remote  ill-consequences  of  deeds  inspired 
by  the  kindly  wish  to  help,  as  of  acts  performed 
for  selfish  motives.     On  the  surface  the  result  of 


I/O  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

giving  money  to  beggars  appears  to  be  merely 
feeding  and  cheering  a  hungry  and  unhappy  man. 
The  remote  consequences  are  the  encouragement 
of  idleness  and  shiftlessness  by  making  idleness 
and  shiftlessness  profitable  and  pleasant.  It  may 
seem  to  you  that  your  generosity  to  a  beggar  is 
inspired  by  love  and  pity,  but  is  it  not  in  reality  an 
expression  of  a  cynical  contempt  for  the  lower 
classes }  If  you  felt  any  kind  of  respect  for  even 
the  latent  possibilities  for  good  in  a  beggar,  would 
you  not  try  to  save  him  from  his  worst  self .''  If 
your  son  should  take  to  begging,  would  you  thank 
the  man  who  acceded  to  his  demand  for  money .'' 
and  if  this  man  refused,  because  of  his  lavish  gifts 
to  beggars,  to  subscribe  to  the  trade  school  which 
might  have  prevented  your  son  from  choosing  his 
shameful  calling,  would  you  then  feel  that  his 
generosity  was  beneficent  .-•  As  it  is  hard  enough 
for  even  the  best  of  men  to  earn  a  living,  why 
should  one  not  devote  one's  money  and  sympathies 
to  making  the  lives  of  struggling  workers  happier 
and  easier,  instead  of  putting  all  the  premium  on 
the  life  of  idleness } 

This  is  not  the  place  for  an  exhaustive  treatise  on 
the  problem  of  mendicity,  but  as  you  will  probably 
be  called  upon  to  take  some  stand  with  your  boys 
in  regard  to  indiscriminate  giving  you  should  be 
prepared  with  some  convictions  founded  on  actual 


OUTSIDE  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  CLUB      171 

knowledge  of  the  subject.  Therefore,  I  would 
recommend  that  you  read  "Paris  qui  Mendie,"  by 
M.  Louis  Paulian,  or  the  excellent  translation  of 
this  book  entitled  "The  Beggars  of  Paris"  made 
by  Lady  Henschell,  and  which  is  published  by 
Edward  Arnold,  New  York,  Read  also  "  Tramp- 
ing with  Tramps "  and  other  books  by  Josiah 
Flynt. 

I  think  enough  has  been  said  here  to  suggest 
what  a  person  standing  in  the  relation  of  a  club 
adviser  may  do  for  the  general  culture  of  his  boys 
outside  of  club  hours.  These  "outside  activities" 
will  vary  according  to  the  opportunities  presented 
by  the  town  in  which  the  club  meets  and  the  in- 
telligence and  ambition  of  its  boys. 


CHAPTER   X 

ADAPTATIONS    NECESSARY    TO     FIT     THE     CLUB     FOR 
BOYS    OF    DIFFERENT    AGES    AND    RACES 

Typical  self-governing  clubs,  such  as  I  have 
had  in  mind  in  writing  this  book,  are  for  boys  from 
twelve  to  sixteen  years  of  age;  certain  changes  in 
these  organizations  must  be  made  to  adapt  them 
to  the  needs  of  older  and  younger  boys. 

It  is  impossible  to  run  a  club  successfully  where 
the  members'  ages  vary  too  greatly.  (See  page  io8.) 
If  a  settlement  or  school  wishes  to  cover  the  ground 
of  club  education  thoroughly,  it  should  maintain 
separate  clubs  for  boys  from  eight  to  ten ;  from 
ten  to  twelve  ;  from  twelve  to  fourteen  (all  these 
can  meet  in  the  afternoons) ;  from  fourteen  to  six- 
teen ;  and  from  sixteen  to  twenty  (the  last  two 
clubs  can  meet  in  the  evening). 

The  two  youngest  clubs,  for  boys  from  eight  to 
twelve,  may  be  designated  as  juvenile  clubs.  The 
clubs  for  boys  from  twelve  to  sixteen  may  be  called 
intermediate  or  typical  clubs  ;  the  last  club,  for 
boys  from  sixteen  to  twenty,  may  be  called  simply 

172 


NECESSARY  ADAPTATIONS  173 

the  oldest  club.  In  the  two  juvenile  clubs  there 
may  be  from  thirty-five  to  forty  members  ;  but  boys 
over  twelve  are  very  sensitive  to  congeniality,  and 
consequently  in  the  intermediate  and  oldest  clubs 
it  will  be  difficult  to  find  more  than  twenty  to 
twenty-five  members  who  can  work  and  play  in 
harmony  together. 

The  fact  that  boys  who  reach  a  certain  age  have 
marked  likes  and  dislikes,  and  care  to  associate 
only  with  individuals  whose  tastes  are  like  their 
own,  is  no  indication  of  snobbishness. 

Very  radical  differences  in  the  quality  of  heart, 
mind  and  taste  are  apparent  among  Hebrew  boys 
of  sixteen.  Irish  and  Italian  boys,  living  in  one 
tenement  and  receiving  the  same  early  education, 
are  likely  to  continue  to  belong  to  the  same  class 
all  their  lives.  Even  if  one  or  two  of  them  amass 
a  greater  competence  than  the  others,  there  will  be 
very  slight  differences  in  their  spiritual  or  mental 
conditions.  A  large  colony  of  Jews,  however,  will 
have  within  it  every  possibility  for  talent,  virtue, 
force  of  character,  vice,  and  stupidity.  I  have  often 
wondered  at  the  divergence  in  the  careers  of  two 
Hebrew  youths,  brothers  perhaps,  who  as  children 
were  friends  and  playmates  in  some  juvenile  club. 
In  childhood  there  would  not  seem  to  be  much 
to  choose  between  them  in  mind,  morals,  or  man- 
ners.    When  they  were  sixteen  or  seventeen  both 


174  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

might  be  equally  virtuous,  but  one  would  have 
made  up  his  mind  to  be  a  teacher,  lawyer  or 
doctor ;  he  would  be  making  heroic  sacrifices  to 
keep  his  next  few  years  free  for  a  college  educa- 
tion ;  he  would  have  found  companionship  in 
the  various  residents,  advisers  and  lecturers  of 
the  settlement ;  he  would  be  keenly  interested  in 
politics  and  philanthropy.  His  old  playmate,  on  the 
other  hand,  would  have  left  school  permanently* 
two  years  before ;  his  ambition  would  be  to  be- 
come a  plumber ;  his  friends  would  be  other  boys 
of  his  own  caliber ;  and  his  only  apparent  out- 
side interest  would  be  melodrama.  It  is  not  snob- 
bishness that  makes  a  clever  youth  perceive  the 
growing  gulf  between  himself  and  his  friend  and 
that  makes  him  feel  this  friend  is  choosing  the 
lower  calling,  and  one  that  he  neither  likes  nor 
comprehends.  The  feeling  of  dislike  which  the 
young  professional  man  might  have  for  the  prospec- 
tive plumber,  for  example,  would  scarcely  even  be 
personal  ;  it  would  be  simply  a  part  of  a  general 
revolt  against  a  condition  of  living  and  thinking 
which  the  plumber  seems  to  represent  and  embody. 
A  truly  democratic  spirit  is  not  an  instinct  but 
a  matter  of  conscious  principle.  Lack  of  percep- 
tion is  not  true  democracy,  although  often  mis- 
taken for  it.  Little  boys  when  they  welcome 
every  one  into  their  club  are  not  democratic.     Dif- 


NECESSARY  ADAPTATIONS  175 

ferences  in  character  and  ability  at  this  age  are 
not  very  marked,  but  those  that  do  exist  are  not 
perceived. 

When  a  boy  first  begins  to  be  critical  of  people, 
the  adviser  should  distinguish  between  an  intelli- 
gent perception  of  differences  in  character  and  a 
snobbish  regard  for  differences  in  social  standing, 
so-called.  For  instance,  it  is  quite  proper  that  a 
boy  should  see  and  dislike  coarseness,  stupidity,  or 
selfishness,  but  he  should  not  object  to  shabbiness 
or  a  humble  calling.  I  have  known  department- 
store  cash-boys  in  my  clubs  who  would  blackball 
all  newsboy  candidates  because  the  latter  were 
considered  to  belong  to  a  lower  class.  Snobbish- 
ness of  this  sort  should  be  mercilessly  condemned 
and  ridiculed.  In  the  course  of  time  all  boys  who 
are  really  clever  will  realize  that  there  is  a  higher 
social  ideal  than  the  desire  to  associate  merely 
with  persons  of  like  parts  to  their  own,  and  the 
adviser  should  guide  their  thoughts  constantly 
toward  this  ideal.  In  a  grown-up  club,  where  the 
members  are  twenty  years  old,  there  is  often  a 
truly  democratic  spirit.  When  the  young  teacher 
is  a  man  he  will  think  of  his  club  as  a  forum  where 
all  kinds  of  opinions  can  be  expressed  unrestrained. 
The  young  plumber  will  then  become  interesting 
because  he  expresses  a  point  of  view  —  one  which 
is    held    by    thousands    of    human    beings.     He 


176  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

becomes  the  representative,  the  voice  of  this  vast 
number  of  people  —  important  people  in  the  world 
because  of  their  numbers.  He  ceases  to  irritate, 
too,  because  the  mode  of  life  and  thought  he  rep- 
resents no  longer  seriously  hampers  the  ambitions 
of  his  cleverer  fellow-members,  who  can  therefore 
regard  it  and  him  dispassionately.  By  this  time, 
too,  it  will  be  found  that  lovable  qualities  are  often 
inherent  in  extremely  elementary  natures. 

The  second  reason  why  juvenile  clubs  may  have 
more  members  than  older  clubs  is,  that  little  boys 
under  twelve  will  not  have  much  to  talk  about  in 
their  business  meetings  ;  for,  as  I  shall  explain 
later,  their  adviser  decides  for  them  many  things 
which  older  boys  decide  for  themselves,  and  older 
boys  will  see  in  a  question  or  problem  much  more 
food  for  discussion  than  can  be  perceived  by  less 
mature  minds. 

Every  boy  who  has  an  idea  should  be  given  the 
chance  to  express  it  fully,  and  yet  to  do  this  he 
'will  require  time.  If,  in  a  club,  there  were  forty 
members  of  the  talkative  age  (that  is,  any  age 
after  twelve),  none  of  them  could  do  their  ideas 
justice  in  the  few  seconds  which  would  be  at 
their  disposal  in  a  business  meeting.  The  forty 
little  boys  in  a  juvenile  club  will  have  so  little  to 
say  that  they  can  transact  all  their  business  in 
from    half    to   three    quarters    of   an    hour,    while 


ATECESSARV  ADAPTATIONS  177 

in  the  oldest  clubs,  where  there  are  perhaps  only 
twenty  members,  two  hours  will  sometimes  be 
scarcely  -sufficient  for  every  one  to  have  the  floor 
when  he  wants  it. 

The  adviser  in  a  juvenile  club  should  exert  a 
great  deal  more  authority  than  in  an  older  club. 
In  clubs  of  boys  from  eight  to  twelve  the  adviser 
is,  properly  speaking,  a  director.  It  has  been 
found  expedient  to  allow  this  director  to  admin- 
ister most  of  the  discipline  of  the  business  meet- 
ing. If  the  boys  appeal  from  some  decision  or 
ruling  of  the  chairman,  the  director,  and  not  the 
boys,  should  arbitrate  the  disputed  point.  These 
little  boys  should  be  allowed  to  perform  all  minor 
acts  of  discipline,  such  as  sending  home  for  the 
day  or  suspending  for  non-payment  of  dues,  but 
they  should  not  be  permitted  to  discuss  or  con- 
sider the  graver  charges  which  can  be  brought 
against  a  member,  for  nothing  is  more  disgusting 
than  to  see  little  children  criticising  or  analyzing 
the  immoral  characteristics  of  their  companions. 
If  the  members  find  out  anything  serious  against 
one  of  their  number,  —  that  he  steals  or  gambles, 
for  instance,  —  they  should  report  it  to  the  direc- 
tor, who  will  do  whatever  seems  wisest  in  the  way 
of  suspending  or  expelling  the  accused. 

While  the  boys  in  a  juvenile  club  may  have  the 
privilege  of  electing  their  own  members  (a  majority 

N 


178  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

instead  of  merely  three  blackballs  should  be  re- 
quired to  exclude),  the  director  should  have  the 
power  to  admit  any  boy  to  membership  regard- 
less of  the  wishes  of  the  club.  There  should  also 
be  a  rule  that  a  candidate  who  brings  a  recommen- 
dation from  any  grown  person  known  to  the  direc- 
tor should  be  admitted  to  the  club  without  vote  or 
question.  These  boys  may  also  vote  for  their  own 
officers,  but  without  discussion.  In  short,  all  per- 
sonalities should  be  excluded  from  the  business 
meetings  of  little  boys'  clubs. 

Most  of  the  ethical  lessons  of  the  juvenile  club 
will  be  learned  in  playing  games  ;  the  object  of 
the  business  meeting  will  be  to  inculcate  habits 
of  orderly  thinking,  of  unselfconsciousness,  of 
clear  speaking  and  of  courtesy.  In  the  game 
hour  of  juvenile  clubs  the  director  should  have 
a  number  of  assistants  who  will  explain  and 
moralize  over  the  games  which  they  play  with 
the  children.  (I  mean  the  italicized  word  in  a 
cheerful,  practical,  interesting  sense,  although  I 
know  well  that  it  connotes  all  that  is  dismal 
and  borous  —  a  comment  on  the  way  in  which 
ethics  have  been  usually  taught.)  In  the  typical 
or  intermediate  self-governing  clubs  (boys  from 
twelve  to  fourteen  and  from  fourteen  to  sixteen) 
the  discussions  of  the  business  meeting  predomi- 
nate as  a  source  of  ethical  experiences,  although, 


NECESSARY  ADAPTATIONS  IJC) 

as  we  have  seen,  games  also  instil  effectively  many 
moral  principles. 

In  the  oldest  club  (boys  from  sixteen  to  twenty) 
the  grown  person  in  charge,  who  may  attend  the 
meetings,  is  an  adviser  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the 
word.  In  the  constitution  of  the  typical  or  inter- 
mediate club  it  may  be  remembered  that  the  ad- 
viser is  given  considerable  authority  which  he  may 
use  at  his  discretion.  In  the  oldest  club  he  has 
no  position  in  the  constitution  at  all.  It  is  not 
his  place  to  reprove  or  keep  order,  or  to  protect 
life  or  property.  His  duty  is  merely  to  make  com- 
ments, to  criticise  and  to  advise  when  he  can 
tactfully  do  so.  The  business  meetings  of  these 
clubs  are  of  paramount  importance  ethically  ; 
games  are  indulged  in  chiefly  for  recreation  or 
exercise. 

When  Hebrew  club  boys  are  about  seventeen  or 
eighteen  years  old  and  have  been  through  a  long 
course  of  club-training,  they  often  become  dis- 
contented with  what  seems  to  them  the  futility  of 
spending  hours  in  the  discussion  of  topics  of  im- 
portance merely  in  the  club.  They  cannot  see 
that  the  hair-splitting,  parliamentary  squabbles 
which  at  this  time  take  place,  and  the  fierce  dis- 
cussions on  merely  club  affairs,  are  teaching  them 
anything  but  combativeness.  A  favorite  scheme 
of  the  older  East  Side  clubs  at  this  stage  of  their 


l8o  BOVS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

existence  is  to  invite  down  some  distinguished 
man  each  month  to  deliver  an  address.  The  idea 
of  twenty  boys  sitting  luxuriously  in  their  meeting 
room  within  a  step  of  their  homes  while  some  busy 
man  toils  down  town  fifty  blocks  on  a  bitter  winter 
night  to  entertain  this  small  audience,  is  rather 
comic,  although  the  self-indulgence  of  the  proceed- 
ing never  strikes  the  boys.  As  in  New  York  the 
Board  of  Education  provides  very  elaborate  courses 
of  free  evening  lectures  in  public  schools  all  over 
the  city,  and  as  nearly  every  philanthropic  institu- 
tion in  town  also  gives  frequent  talks  and  confer- 
ences on  all  subjects,  there  is  little  reason  why 
any  one  should  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  private 
lectures. 

If  the  monthly  lecturer  does  not  seem  to  satisfy 
the  cravings  of  the  boys  for  a  really  serious  object 
in  their  clubs,  an  effort  is  made  to  turn  the  pleasure 
or  social  club  into  a  "literary  society,"  in  the  be- 
lief that  reading  aloud  and  reciting  poems  afford 
better  intellectual  and  moral  training  than  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  usual  subjects  of  the  business 
meeting.  Sometimes  a  definite  course  of  study  is 
taken  up  during  the  winter,  and  an  adviser  is 
chosen  who  can  act  as  instructor  in  literature  or 
political  economy.  I  believe  that  it  is  a  great 
mistake,  however,  for  a  club  to  adopt  the  features 
of  a  class,  for  by  so  doing  it  narrows  its  interests 


NECESSARY  ADAPTATIONS  i8l 

and  influence ;  for  the  members  of  a  club,  elected 
for  their  general  social  qualities,  will  not  necessarily 
agree  in 'taste  or  talent,  and  those  who  find  they 
cannot  do  well  in  the  prescribed  course  of  study 
will  be  likely  to  seek  more  congenial  occupation 
elsewhere. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  work  which  come  within 
the  abilities  and  appeal  to  the  tastes  of  boys  of 
greatly  varying  talents  and  virtues,  and  which 
consequently  are  appropriate  for  the  oldest  club 
to  undertake.  One  of  these  is  the  promotion  of  a 
gay  and  wholesome  social  life  in  the  neighborhood. 
This  can  be  done  by  giving  cooperative  parties  and 
theatricals  for  the  young  friends  of  the  members  ; 
by  visiting  newcomers  in  the  district,  entertaining 
them,  and  introducing  them  to  whatever  pleasures 
and  benefits  may  be  open  to  them  in  the  settle- 
ments and  schools  near  them ;  and  by  bringing 
together,  for  some  brief  entertainment  and  conver- 
sation, older  people  —  the  boys'  parents,  club  ad- 
visers, honorary  members,  school  teachers,  local 
political  friends  —  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages, 
classes,  races,  nationalities,  political  affiliations 
and  religious  beliefs.  This  last  proposition  may 
seem  to  be  impracticable,  but  it  is  not,  for  I  have 
often  attended  such  parties  on  the  East  Side. 
Intelligent  club  boys  will  have  peculiar  opportuni- 
ties for  establishing  friendships  with  a  great  variety 


1 82  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

of  people,  and  they  often  have  a  real  gift  for  suc- 
cessfully mixing  people  of  different  kinds. 

The  other  work,  which  may  be  undertaken  by 
ambitious  older  club  boys,  is  to  forward  all  schemes 
for  local  improvements  by  reporting  nuisances  and 
infractions  of  ordinances ;  by  obtaining  signatures 
to  petitions ;  by  raising  money ;  and  by  helping 
philanthropic  and  civic  societies  in  ways  suggested 
on  page  169. 

In  the  play  hour  of  a  club  of  Hebrew  boys 
rough  games  should  be  encouraged  as  much  as 
possible,  for,  owing  to  generations  of  sedentary 
living,  the  Jew  has  a  sadly  undeveloped  physique. 
The  boys  of  this  race  take  to  active  games  and 
gymnastics  with  great  avidity,  however,  and  can 
usually  outstrip  Irish  competitors  because  of  their 
more  highly  organized  nervous  systems  and  better 
minds. 

The  average  Hebrew  youth  who  receives  an  all- 
round  education  will  be  a  better-balanced  indi- 
vidual than  his  Irish  contemporary  who  has  had 
the  same  advantages.  Irish  boys  have  exuberant 
animal  spirits,  they  are  warm-hearted,  they  have 
quick  and  pugnacious  tempers  and  the  sort  of 
attractiveness  that  comes  with  good  looks  and 
genial  dispositions.  These  are  their  only  pro- 
nounced characteristics.  Hebrews  (provided  they 
are  well  nourished)  have  quite  sufficient  physical 


NECESSARY  ADAPTATIONS  183 

vigor  (although  painfully  lacking  in  beauty),  they 
have  equally  warm  and  much  more  faithful  hearts, 
their  tempers  are  gentler,  and  they  have  a  keen, 
vigorous  mentality  quite  unknown  to  their  Irish 
friends.  The  Jews  are  essentially  reasoning  be- 
ings. What  they  need  is  a  broader  knowledge  of 
the  world  as  it  is,  so  that  they  may  reason  soundly. 
The  Irish  seldom  reason,  or,  indeed,  think  at  all. 
They  are  creatures  of  impulse,  instinct,  and  emo- 
tion. Their  mental  powers  need  development 
from  the  most  fundamental  beginnings. 

The  typical  self-governing  club  is  for  Hebrew 
boys ;  boys  of  no  other  race  will  benefit  from  it 
as  they  will.  An  Irish  club  will  be  much  less 
interesting  than  a  Jewish  club.  In  the  former, 
one  will  have  to  devote  one's  self  for  years  to  the 
imparting  of  the  mere  rudiments  of  ethics  and 
logic.  Arbitrary  authority  will  be  necessary  with 
them  until  they  are  almost  grown  up.  Hebrew 
boys  are  so  reasonable,  and  learn  so  well  the 
principles  of  order,  that,  if  occasion  requires  it, 
their  adviser  can  leave  them  to  conduct  with  per- 
fect decorum  their  meetings  by  themselves.  Dur- 
ing the  first  winter  I  had  charge  of  the  clubs  in 
the  New  York  public  school,  it  happened  one 
night  that  not  an  adviser  besides  myself  was  pres- 
ent. Six  boys'  clubs,  averaging  twenty  members 
each,  met  in  the  building,  and  one  of  these  had 


1 84  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

taken  the  occasion  to  give  a  party  to  which  were 
invited  about  twenty-five  little  girls.  Although  I 
spent  most  of  the  evening,  as  usual,  with  my  own 
particular  club,  there  was  not  one  moment  of  dis- 
orderliness  in  any  other  part  of  the  building. 
Once  in  a  while  I  strolled  through  the  corridors 
and  listened  outside  the  class-rooms  where  the 
club  meetings  were  in  session,  but  found  quiet 
prevailing  everywhere.  I  only  realized  how  re- 
markable that  experience  was,  when  I  came  to  have 
something  to  do  with  the  Irish  clubs  on  Staten 
Island.  There,  the  turning  of  one's  back  was  a 
signal  for  pandemonium  and  wanton  mischief. 

I  might  go  on  suggesting  adaptations  for  clubs 
of  boys  of  different  ages  and  races  ad  infinitum, 
but  to  do  so  is  quite  unnecessary.  Any  adviser 
with  common  sense  will  know  when  the  time 
comes  just  what  changes  it  is  best  should  be 
made. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE   PERSONALITY   OF   CLUB   ADVISERS 

It  must  not  be  inferred  from  the  foregoing  chap- 
ters that  the  educational  power  of  self-governing 
clubs  depends  upon  system  alone.  It  is  personality 
working  through  system  which  is  effective  in  clubs 
as  it  is  in  any  other  scheme  of  education.  It  is 
personality  which  sees,  explains,  and  inspires  ;  it  is 
system  which  affords  the  practical  illustrations  and 
which  shows  the  relation  of  one  act  or  experience 
to  events  that  have  gone  before,  and  to  its  train  of 
consequences. 

The  difficulty  always  in  making  a  good  club  is 
to  find  the  proper  personality  to  guide  it.  Hereto- 
fore all  clubs  have  been  run  by  untrained  volun- 
teers and  amateurs  whose  only  qualification  for  the 
task  assumed  was  a  liking  for  boys  and  the  power 
to  inspire  liking  in  them.  I  look  forward  to  the 
day  when  the  work  of  advising  or  directing  clubs 
shall  be  as  honorable  a  profession  as  that  of  school- 
teaching,  and  when  all  advisers  shall  be  required 
to  prepare  themselves  for  their  calling  by  a  course 
of  study  more  difficult  than  that  now  required  to 

185 


l86  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

prepare  public  school  teachers.  In  addition  to  a 
technical  knowledge  of  history,  sociology,  psychol- 
ogy, physiology,  ethnology,  criminology,  political 
economy,  pedagogy,  the  history  of  education,  com- 
parative religions,  ethics,  music,  athletics,  botany, 
arborology,  and  dramatics,  and  one  or  two  lan- 
guages, the  ideal  club  adviser  should  be  a  man  of 
the  world  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  He 
should  be  without  religious  or  political  prejudice; 
he  should  be  democratic  in  the  true,  not  the  cant, 
acceptation  of  the  word  ;  he  should  have  an  attrac- 
tive personality  and  excellent  manners ;  he  should 
have  travelled  ;  and  he  should  have  had  a  fairly 
broad  social  experience,  such  as  might  be  gained 
by  any  well-behaved,  intelligent  young  man  (no 
matter  what  his  origin),  in  a  large  university.  He 
should  also  have  the  power  to  inspire  love  as  well 
as  respect  and  admiration.  I  speak  of  the  club 
adviser  here  as  "he,"  but  I  do  not  mean  to  imply 
that  there  are  not  many  women  as  learned,  and 
as  bracing  in  their  influence  over  boys,  as  men.  If 
an  adviser  is  a  woman,  she  sometimes  commands  a 
peculiar  influence  because  she  inspires  respect  and 
admiration  for  qualities  which  many  boys  do  not 
know  a  woman  ever  possesses. 

But  where  would  the  money  come  from  to  pay 
the  salaries  of  these  highly  gifted  beings  if  they 
should  undertake  the  profession  of  club   advisers 


THE  PERSONALITY  OF  CLUB  ADVISERS    187 

for  a  living,  the  practical  reader  may  ask.  May 
I  not,  after  having  confined  myself  throughout  the 
book  to  recording  what  has  actually  occurred,  in- 
dulge in  a  little  Utopian  dreaming  ?  And  since  it 
is  quite  as  easy  to  fancy  that  one  has  a  large  sum 
as  a  small,  let  me  believe  myself  the  possessor  of 
;^  10,000,000  annually,  with  which  I  am  to  put  in 
operation  a  complete  system  of  club  education  in 
New  York. 

With  this  money  I  would  first  build  a  normal 
college  for  the  training  of  all  kinds  of  social  workers, 
but  particularly  club  advisers,  with  a  special  post- 
graduate course  for  the  graduates  of  the  universities. 
Next,  I  would  open  every  public  school  in  the  city 
in  the  afternoons  and  evenings  for  games  and  gym- 
nastics. Into  each  public  school  I  would  send  a 
number  of  trained  club  advisers  to  superintend  the 
games  and  gymnastics,  and  it  would  be  the  duty  of 
one  of  these  men  to  draw  from  the  crowds  in  the 
playground  a  group  with  which  to  form  his  club.  In 
the  course  of  time,  through  the  example  of  the  first 
club,  there  would  be  a  demand  for  other  clubs,  and 
as  fast  as  there  was  a  demand  other  advisers  from 
the  normal  school  would  be  sent  there  to  meet  it. 
Each  adviser  should  have  charge  of  two  clubs,  one 
of  which  should  follow  the  other  in  the  matter  of 
the  ages  of  its  members.  This  would  require  him 
to  give  four  afternoons  or  evenings  a  week  to  club 


1 88  BOYS'  SELF-GO VERN/NG   CLUBS 

meetings,  and  would  place  under  his  charge  from 
forty  to  sixty-five  boys  (according  to  their  ages). 
On  Saturdays  and  on  Sunday  afternoons  and  holi- 
days, the  adviser  should  take  these  boys  on  excur- 
sions, or  should  superintend  their  entertainments, 
as  suggested  in  Chapter  X.  Each  boy  should  be 
invited  to  call  upon  the  adviser  in  his  home  several 
times  a  year,  and  every  few  weeks  the  adviser  should 
visit  his  boys'  parents  and  should  learn  their  char- 
acters and  financial  standing.  The  adviser  should 
live  in  or  near  the  district  in  which  his  club  met, 
and  he  should  keep  himself  posted  on  all  the  condi- 
tions, moral  and  immoral,  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
should  interest  himself  in  local  politics  and  move- 
ments for  civic  improvement. 

The  advisers  should  be  well  paid ;  for  it  is  not 
desirable  that  men  or  women  who  are  content  to 
live  dull  or  narrow  lives  should  be  given  positions 
of  so  much  influence  and  responsibility,  and  those 
who  would  choose  the  calling  in  a  self-sacrificing 
spirit  would  be  too  few.  Apart  from  the  salary, 
which  should  be  large  enough  to  attract  vigorous, 
clever  men  and  women,  I  think  the  profession 
would  be  an  interesting  one,  not  only  on  its  own 
merits,  but  because  it  would  lead  naturally  and 
legitimately  to  high  positions  in  politics  and 
reform. 

And  what  would   be  the  effect  upon  the  com- 


THE  PERSONALITY  OF  CLUB  ADVISERS    189 

munity  if  the  proposed  scheme  of  club  education 
were  to  be  put  in  force  ?  I  believe  that  there 
would  be  such  a  demand  for  technical  instruction 
of  all  kinds  as  has  never  been  heard  of  before,  and 
a  marked  increase  in  public  morality.  Education 
is  vast  and  self-governing  clubs  are  but  a  small 
part  of  education  as  a  whole ;  but,  nevertheless,  I 
believe  my  fabulous  ^10,000,000  a  year  could  not 
be  spent  to  better  advantage  for  the  public  than 
by  establishing  these  self-governing  clubs  under 
the  guidance  of  trained  advisers  in  all  the  public 
schools  of  New  York. 


CHAPTER  XII 

SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  *   SPECIALLY  ADAPTED 

TO  boys'  clubs 

Order  of  Business 

1.  When  the  chairs  for  the  meeting  have  been 
arranged  and  garments  disposed  of,  and  the  mem- 
bers have  taken  their  seats,  the  president  raps 
with  his  gavel  upon  the  table  before  which  he 
sits  and  says,  "  The  meeting  is  hereby  called  to 
order."  After  this  if  any  member  makes  a  noise, 
speaks,  or  leaves  his  chair  without  permission  of 
the  chairman,  he  is  guilty  of  a  breach  of  decorum. 
(See  §  56.) 

2.  When  the  call  for  order  has  been  responded 
to,  the  chairman  tells  the  treasurer  to  call  the 
roll  and  collect  the  dues.  The  treasurer  will  have 
prepared  a  book  in  which  to  keep  a  clear  account 

1  For  authoritative  books  on  parliamentary  law  I  would  refer 
the  reader  to  Cushing's  "  Manual,"  Roberts's  "  Rules  of  Order," 
Reed's  "  Manual,"  and  Miss  Adele  P'ielde's  "  Manual."  (The  lat- 
ter can  be  obtained  only  from  the  author  at  23  West  44th  Street, 
New  York.) 

These  books  are  quoted  in  the  order  of  their  publication. 

190 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  191 

of  the  attendance,  absence,  and  state  of  indebted- 
ness of  every  member. 

3.  After  the  roll  has  been  called  and  the  dues 
collected,  the  chairman  must  ascertain  if  there  is 
a  quorum  present.  A  majority  of  the  members 
in  regular  attendance  (that  is,  of  those  who,  while 
belonging  to  the  club,  have  not  been  suspended  or 
granted  a  leave  of  absence)  should  constitute  a 
quorum.  If  there  is  a  decided  majority  present, 
a  glance  will  tell  the  president  that  this  is  so,  but 
if  there  is  any  doubt  in  his  mind,  he  must  ask  the 
treasurer  to  count  the  number  of  those  who  are 
members  in  regular  standing  and  then  the  names 
of  those  recorded  as  being  present  on  the  day  in 
question.  If  the  president  or  any  member  has  a 
doubt  of  the  presence  of  a  quorum,  the  business 
of  the  meeting  should  not  proceed  until  an  actual 
count  has  been  taken. 

4.  If  a  quorum  is  present,  the  president  instructs 
the  secretary  to  read  the  minutes  of  the  previous 
meeting.  (See  §  8.)  When  he  has  done  so  the 
president  calls  for  corrections  or  additions  to  the 
minutes.  If  any  of  these  are  made,  and  if  they 
are  acceptable  to  the  club  (that  is,  if  no  one  makes 
objection  to  them),  the  secretary  shall  be  instructed 
to  incorporate  them  in  the  minutes.  The  chairman 
then  announces  that  a  motion  to  adopt  the  minutes 
as  corrected  would  be  in  order.     If  such  a  motion 


192  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

is  made  and  carried,  these  minutes  become  the 
authoritative  record  of  the  proceedings  of  that  day. 
If  there  has  been  no  discussion  as  to  the  correct- 
ness of  the  minutes  as  originally  read  by  the 
secretary,  the  chairman,  for  the  sake  of  saving 
time,  may  simply  say,  "  If  there  is  no  objection, 
the  minutes  will  be  adopted."  He  should  then 
pause  a  minute  to  give  a  possible  objector  time 
to  be  heard. 

5.  When  the  business  of  the  minutes  has  been 
disposed  of,  the  president  calls  for  communications 
and  reports.  On  the  first  reading  of  these  the 
club  may  take  any  one  of  three  actions ;  viz.,  to 
reject,  to  accept,  or  to  lay  on  the  table.  (See 
§§  9,   10,   II  and  12.) 

6.  After  this  preliminary  sorting  and  disposing 
of  communications  and  reports,  the  chairman  calls 
for  old  and  unfinished  business.  The  secretary 
should  have  compiled,  from  the  minutes  of  the 
previous  meeting,  a  list  of  those  subjects  whose 
discussion  was  postponed.  If  any  of  the  accepted 
reports  or  communications  of  the  day  bear  on  these 
postponed  subjects,  they  should  be  read  in  connec- 
tion with  the  discussion  of  these  subjects. 

7.  After  old  and  unfinished  business  has  been 
disposed  of,  the  chairman  calls  for  "new  business." 
The  first  matter  to  be  taken  up  will  be  those  re- 
ports and  communications  which  were  "  accepted  " 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  193 

immediately  after  reading  the  minutes,  but  which 
were  not  finally  disposed  of  in  connection  with 
"old  or  unfinished  business."  Next  should  follow 
the  election  of  new  members  or  officers  (if  there 
are  any),  and  last,  the  members  have  the  right 
to  introduce  any  discussion  or  motion  on  any  sub- 
ject whatsoever. 

Minutes 

8.  The  minutes  may  open  in  this  form :  "  The 
hundredth  regular  meeting  of  the  Young  Potomac 
Club  was  held  in  the  Guild  on  November  2,  1894, 
at  four-thirty,  Mr.  Max  Greenberg  presiding." 
Then  should  follow  the  number  of  boys  in  at- 
tendance and  the  amount  of  dues  collected.  After 
this  there  should  be  an  account  of  the  communica- 
tions and  reports  read  at  the  meeting  and  of  the 
disposition  made  of  them.  No  record  need  be 
kept  of  general  discussion  or  of  motions  which  fail 
of  passage,  but  all  motions  which  are  passed  should 
be  given  fully  with  the  names  of  the  boys  who 
have  proposed  and  seconded  them.  The  names 
of  all  members  appointed  on  committees  and  the 
duties  of  these  committees  ;  the  names  of  boys  sus- 
pended, expelled,  dropped  or  granted  a  leave 
of  absence ;  the  names  of  new  members  when 
elected ;  the  names  of  newly  elected  officers, 
should  all  be  entered  in  the  minutes.     In  closing. 


194  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

the  following  words  may  be  used,  "  The  meeting 
adjourned  at  five-thirty." 

Disposal  of  Cotnmunications  and  Reports 

9.  When  communications  or  reports  are  first 
read  the  club  should  decide  whether  each  one  is 
to  be  rejected,  accepted  or  laid  on  the  table. 

10.  If  a  communication  or  report  is  not  written 
in  correct  form,  —  that  is,  if  it  is  incoherent, 
illegible  or  (in  older  clubs)  written  in  pencil 
instead  of  ink,  —  or  if  it  should  contain  bad  or 
abusive  language,  or  should  be  unsigned,  it 
should  be  rejected  and  should  be  returned  to  the 
sender  if  he  is  known. 

11.  If  a  report  or  communication  is  of  slight 
importance  or  requires  no  immediate  attention,  or 
cannot  be  considered  until  further  information  is 
obtained,  a  motion  should  be  made  to  lay  it  on 
the  table.  At  any  time  a  member  may  demand 
that  action  be  taken  upon  it,  but  no  definite  time 
for  its  consideration  need  be  fixed. 

12.  Reports  that  are  in  correct  form,  and  which 
contain  information  of  immediate  consequence,  or 
questions  which  should  be  answered  at  once, 
should  be  accepted  without  discussion  and  should 
be  reserved  for  further  consideration  when,  either 
in   "  old  or   unfinished   business "   or  "  new  busi- 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  195 

ness  "  (see  §§6  and  7),  it  would  be  appropriate  to 
discuss  their  contents. 

13.  A  report  or  communication  which,  after  its 
preliminary  reading,  has  been  accepted,  may,  in 
"  old  or  unfinished  business  "  or  in  "  new  busi- 
ness," be  adopted,  filed  or  rejected. 

14.  Certain  reports,  if  their  provisions  are 
agreed  to,  require  immediate  constitutional  ac- 
tion. For  instance,  the  report  of  the  Investigat- 
ing Committee  may  contain  the  information  that 
a  certain  member  of  the  club  has  been  discharged 
by  his  employer  for  theft.  If  the  members  feel 
that  this  report  is  correct,  they  adopt  it,  which 
makes  it  as  authoritative  as  law,  and  which 
requires  them  to  take  immediate  action  in  regard 
to  expelling  or  suspending  the  accused  member,  ac- 
cording to  Article  VIII,  Section  i,  of  the  Consti- 
tution. 

15.  If  such  a  report  is  found  to  be  false,  or  to 
have  been  made  with  honest  intention  but  in- 
sufficient proof,  it  will  be  simply  rejected  and 
destroyed,  and  no  action  in  regard  to  the  accused 
member  will  be  taken. 

16.  Other  reports  or  communications  of  less 
vital  importance  may  be  simply  filed  if  their  con- 
tents are  agreed  to.  Some  of  these  reports  may 
contain  imformation  or  recommendations  on  several 
matters,  and  these  should  be  taken  up  and   dis- 


196  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

cussed  separately.  For  instance,  a  report  may 
recommend  sending  a  foot-ball  challenge  to  the 
Lincoln  Pleasure  Club,  and  it  may  add  the  infor- 
mation that  trains  run  to  the  park  on  the  half 
hour  and  that  a  foot-ball  costs  from  $2.00  to  ^4.50. 
Now  the  club  may  take  up  each  of  these  propo- 
sitions separately  and  may  make  whatever  motions 
in  regard  to  them  it  may  desire.  Even  if  the 
recommendation  to  send  a  challenge  is  rejected 
and  the  vote  is  taken  to  buy  no  foot-ball  and  to 
have  no  outing,  the  report  must  be  filed,  as  it 
will  have  contained  information  which  was  of 
sufficient  utility  to  justify  its  discussion  in  detail 
—  information  which  maybe  of  use  later. 

17.  On  the  other  hand,  if  this  report  had  been 
found  to  contain  false  information,  as,  for  instance, 
that  no  such  club  as  the  Lincoln  Pleasure  Club 
existed,  that  no  trains  went  to  the  park  and  that 
foot-balls  cost  from  1^5.00  to  $10.00,  it  should  be 
rejected  and  destroyed,  and  this  rejection  would 
justify  the  members  in  "new  business"  in  taking 
action  against  the  committee  which  sent  in  the 
false  report. 

18.  A  report  which  merely  announces  that  a 
committee  or  individual  has  done  certain  work 
which  it  was  instructed  to  do  and  which  requires 
no  action  on  the  part  of  the  assembly  should  be 
merely  filed,  unless  the  report  is  found  to  be  false, 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  197 

when  it  should  be  rejected  and  later  on  action  taken 
against  the  writer. 

The  Making  of  Motions 

19.  A  member  may  launch  some  vague  idea 
upon  an  assembly  which  will  provoke  a  scattering 
and  more  or  less  random  discussion.  In  order  to 
bring  matters  to  a  head  and  accompHsh  something 
definite,  a  member  may  incorporate  in  concrete 
form  the  ideas  advanced  in  this  discussion  and 
present  them  in  the  form  of  a  motion.  It  will 
be  the  duty  of  the  presiding  officer  to  suggest  as 
soon  as  possible  that  some  member  make  such  a 
motion.     Otherwise,  he  must  stop  the  discussion. 

20.  "  Whenever  a  member  introduces  a  propo- 
sition of  his  own  ...  he  puts  it  into  the  form 
he  desires  it  should  have,  and  then  moves  that  it 
be  adopted  as  a  resolution,  order  or  vote  of  the 
assembly.  If  this  proposition  so  far  meets  the 
approbation  of  other  members  that  one  of  them 
arises  in  his  place  and  seconds  it,  it  may  then  be 
put  to  the  question ;  and  the  result,  whether 
affirmative  or  negative,  becomes  the  judgment 
of  the  assembly.^  ..." 

21.  "A  motion  must  be  seconded,  that  is,  ap- 
proved by  some  one  member  at  least  expressing 

1  All  the  sections  in  this  chapter  which  are  placed  between 
quotation  marks  are  taken  from  Cushing's  "  Manual." 


198         BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

his  approval  by  rising  and  saying  that  he  seconds 
the  motion ;  and  if  a  motion  be  not  seconded  no 
notice  whatever  is  to  be  taken  of  it  by  the  pre- 
siding officer.  .  .  .  The  seconding  of  a  motion 
seems  to  be  required  on  the  ground  that  the  time 
of  the  assembly  ought  not  to  be  taken  up  by  a 
question  which,  for  anything  that  appears,  has 
no  one  in  its  favor  but  the  mover." 

22.  When  a  motion  has  been  made  and  seconded, 
the  chairman  rises  and,  "  making  sure  that  perfect 
order  and  quiet  prevails,  repeats  the  motion  so 
that  all  may  hear  it."  He  then  asks  if  there  is 
any  discussion  on  the  motion.  If  there  is,  the 
members  who  desire  to  speak  in  favor  or  opposi- 
tion of  the  motion  are  given  the  floor  (see  §41); 
but  if  there  is  not,  the  vote  is  called  at  once. 

23.  When  a  motion  has  been  stated  by  the  pre- 
siding officer  to  the  assembly,  it  becomes  a  question 
for  its  decision  ;  "  and  until  so  stated  it  is  not  in 
order  for  any  other  motion  to  be  made,  or  for  any 
member  to  speak  to  it ;  but  when  moved,  seconded 
and  stated  from  the  chair  a  motion  is  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  assembly,  and  cannot  be  withdrawn 
by  the  mover  but  by  special  leave  of  the  assembly, 
which  must  be  obtained  by  a  motion  made  and 
seconded  as  in  other  cases."     (See  §  38.) 

24.  "  But,  on  the  other  hand,  after  a  motion  has 
been  made,  or  even  after  it   has  been   seconded, 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  199 

provided  it  has  not  yet  been  stated  by  the  chair- 
man as  a  question,  it  is  allowable  for  the  maker 
of  the  motion,  either  of  his  own  choice  or  at  the 
instance  of  the  presiding  officer,  or  even  of  some 
member,  and  without  any  motion  or  vote,  ...  to 
modify  or  withdraw  his  motion." 

25.  After  a  motion  is  in  the  possession  of  an 
assembly,  the  discussion  of  the  members  should  be 
devoted  strictly  to  the  subject  of  the  motion. 

Amendments  to  Motions 

26.  "All  amendments  of  which  a  proposition 
is  susceptible  so  far  as  form  is  concerned,  may  be 
effected  in  one  of  three  ways :  namely,  either  by 
inserting  or  adding  certain  words ;  or  by  striking 
out  certain  words;  or  by  striking  out  certain 
words  and  adding  or  inserting  others."  For  in- 
stance, a  motion  is  made  to  spend  $2.00  of  the 
club's  treasury  for  an  outing  on  New  Year's  Day. 
An  amendment  (striking  out  and  inserting)  is 
made  to  spend  $2.00  of  the  club's  treasury  for 
an  outing  on  Christmas  Day.  Another  amend- 
ment (adding)  is  made  to  spend  $2.00  of  the 
club's  treasury  for  an  outing  on  New  Year's  Day 
and  to  invite  the  Blank  Club  to  go,  too.  Yet  an- 
other amendment  (striking  out)  is  made  simply 
to  go  on  an  outing  on  New  Year's  Day. 

27.  A  club    should  not  be  allowed  to  make  an 


200         BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

amendment  on  an  amendment,  for  it  confuses 
matters  too  much.  In  a  club  it  is  simpler  to  allow 
an  indefinite  number  of  amendments  to  the 
original  motion. 

28.  An  amendment  which  has  no  bearing  on 
the  original  motion  should,  of  course,  be  ruled  out 
by  the  chairman.  For  instance,  some  one  might 
propose  as  an  amendment  to  the  original  motion 
stated  above  that  the  club  should  give  a  recitation 
after  the  business  meeting  of  that  day.  This 
should  properly  be  the  subject  of  an  independent 
motion,  as  it  in  no  way  hinders  or  facilitates  the 
outing  on  New  Year's  Day. 

29.  Every  amendment  must  be  seconded  before 
it  can  be  recorded  by  the  secretary  and  receive  the 
consideration  of  the  assembly.  All  amendments 
which  are  regularly  seconded  shall  be  written  down 
by  the  secretary  in  the  order  of  their  making. 

30.  In  voting  for  a  motion  which  has  been 
amended,  the  amendments  are  put  to  the  question 
first,  going  backwards  until  the  original  motion  is 
reached.     (See  §  70.) 

Division  of  a  Question 

31.  "  When  a  proposition  or  motion  is  compli- 
cated, that  is,  composed  of  two  or  more  parts, 
which  are  so  far  independent  of  each  other  as  to  be 
susceptible  of  division  into  several  questions,  and  it 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  201 

is  supposed  that  the  assembly  may  approve  of  some 
but  not  all  of  these  parts,  .  .  .  the  motion  may  be 
divided  into  separate  questions  to  be  separately 
voted  upon  and  decided  by  the  assembly." 

32.  "  A  proposition  in  order  to  be  divisible 
must  comprehend  points  so  distinct  and  entire 
that  if  one  or  more  of  them  be  taken  away  the 
others  may  stand  entire  and  by  themselves  ;  but 
a  quahfying  paragraph,  as  for  example  an  excep- 
tion or  proviso,  if  separated  from  the  general 
assertion  or  statement  to  which  it  belongs,  does 
not  contain  an  entire  point  or  proposition." 

33.  When  a  chairman  has  stated  a  motion  for 
the  last  time  and  is  about  to  put  it  to  a  vote,  any 
member  may  call  for  division  of  the  question  or 
motion.  If  the  chairman  approves  and  no  other 
member  objects,  the  motion  shall  be  voted  upon 
section  by  section.  If,  however,  any  member 
objects  to  the  division,  he  may  make  a  motion  to 
this  effect,  upon  which  a  vote  (see  §  38)  shall  be 
taken  at  once  and  without  discussion  to  ascertain 
whether  the  majority  are  in  favor  of  the  division 
or  not. 

On  Reconsideration  of  a  Motion 

34.  "  It  is  a  principle  of  parliamentary  law 
upon  which  many  of  the  rules  and  proceedings 
previously  stated  are  founded,  that  when  a  ques- 


202  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

tion  has  once  been  put  to  a  deliberative  assembly 
and  decided,  whether  in  the  affirmative  or  negative, 
that  decision  is  the  judgment  of  the  assembly  and 
cannot  be  brought  again  into  question." 

35.  "  It  has  now  come  to  be  a  common  practice 
in  all  our  deliberative  assemblies,  and  may  conse- 
quently be  considered  as  a  principle  of  the  common 
parliamentary  law  of  this  country,  to  reconsider  a 
vote  already  passed  whether  affirmatively  or  nega- 
tively." 

36.  "  For  this  purpose  a  motion  is  made  and 
seconded  in  the  usual  manner,  that  such  a  vote 
be  reconsidered  .  .  .  and  if  this  motion  pre- 
vails ..."  it  simply  means  that  the  original 
motion  is  brought  before  the  assembly,  under  pre- 
cisely the  same  conditions  as  when  it  was  first 
presented,  and  can  be  voted  upon  either  affirma- 
tively or  negatively  all  over  again. 

37.  In  a  club  it  is  best  to  allow  reconsideration 
of  a  motion  once  settled,  only  if  new  light  or  in- 
formation has  been  thrown  upon  the  subject.  The 
mere  fact  that  the  boys  have  changed  their  minds 
should  not  be  sufficient  to  warrant  a  motion  to  re- 
consider a  question  once  settled. 

Privileged  Motiofis 

38.  The  discussion  on  a  motion  may  be  inter- 
rupted (see  §  59)  or  indeed  stopped   by  the  intro- 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  203 

duction  of  a  privileged  motion,  so  called  because 
it  takes  precedence  over  all  other  motions.  The 
privileged  motions  are :  to  adjourn,  to  postpone 
discussion  for  lack  of  time  or  until  further  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  the  subject  can  be  obtained, 
to  drop  the  subject,  to  withdraw  the  original  mo- 
tion (this  may  only  be  made  by  the  maker  of  the 
original  motion),  to  stop  discussion,  to  appeal  from 
the  decision  of  the  chairman  (see  §  60)  for  division 
of  a  question,  to  suspend  some  rule  (see  §  81),  to 
settle  some  subsidiary  matter,  to  discipline  some 
refractory  member,  or  to  amend  the  original  mo- 
tion (see  §§  26,  27,  28  and  29).  Any  one  of  these 
motions  will  take  precedence  of  any  other  that  may 
be  before  the  assembly,  and  it  shall  be  voted  upon 
without  discussion  (amendments  only  may  be  dis- 
cussed) as  soon  as  it  is  made,  seconded  and  stated  by 
the  chairman.  A  privileged  motion  once  defeated 
cannot  be  made  again  in  connection  with  the  same 
original  motion. 

39.  If  the  privileged  motion  to  postpone  voting 
upon  the  main  or  original  motion  is  carried,  the 
original  motion  shall  be  introduced  at  the  next  or 
any  following  meeting  under  the  head  of  old  or 
unfinished  business. 

40.  On  the  other  hand,  if  an  original  motion 
fails  to  be  put  to  the  vote  because  of  the  passage 
of  a  privileged  motion  to  adjourn  the  meeting,  it 


204  BOVS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

shall  not  be  taken  up  again  at  any  succeeding 
meeting,  unless  a  member  reintroduces  it  as  new- 
business. 

On  obtainmg  the  Floor 

41.  "  When  a  member  has  occasion  to  make 
any  communication  whatever  to  the  assembly,  — 
whether  to  make  or  second  a  motion  of  any  kind 
or  merely  to  make  a  verbal  statement,  —  as  well 
as  when  one  desires  to  address  the  assembly  in 
debate,  he  must  in  the  first  place,  as  the  expression 
is,  *  obtain  the  floor '  for  the  purpose  he  has  in 
view.  In  order  to  do  this  he  must  rise  in  his  place 
and,  standing  uncovered,  address  himself  to  the 
presiding  officer  by  his  title ;  and  the  latter,  on 
hearing  himself  thus  addressed,  calls  to  the  mem- 
ber by  his  name ;  and  the  member  may  then,  but 
not  before,  proceed  with  his  business." 

42.  "  If  two  or  more  members  rise  and  address 
themselves  to  the  presiding  officer  at  the  same 
time,  or  nearly  so,  he  should  give  the  floor  to 
the  member  whose  voice  he  heard  first."  In  case 
his  decision  should  not  be  satisfactory,  "...  the 
members   may  appeal   from   his   decision."     (See 

§63.) 

43.  A  member  who  rises  to  a  question  of  infor- 
mation (see  §  51)  should  be  given  the  floor  before  a 
member  who  wishes  to  discuss  the  question  at  issue. 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  205 

44.  '*  It  is  customary  .  .  .  for  the  presiding  offi- 
cer, after  a  motion  has  been  made  and  seconded, 
.  .  .  ta  give  the  floor  to  the  mover  in  preference 
to  others  if  he  rises  to  speak." 

45.  "  It  is  sometimes  thought  that  when  a  mem- 
ber in  the  course  of  debate  breaks  off  his  speech 
and  gives  up  the  floor  to  another  for  a  particular 
purpose,  he  is  entitled  to  it  again  as  of  right  when 
that  purpose  is  accomplished."  This  should  not  be 
so,  however,  as  it  is  not  possible  for  the  presiding 
officer  to  take  notice  of  and  enforce  agreements 
of  this  nature  between  members.  A  member  may 
always  resume  his  speech,  however,  if  the  chair- 
man has  been  obliged  to  interrupt  him  to  enforce 
order  among  the  other  members. 

46.  "  If  the  presiding  officer  rises  up  to  speak, 
any  other  member  who  may  have  risen  for  the 
same  purpose  ought  to  sit  down,  in  order  that  the 
former  may  be  heard  first ;  but  this  rule  does  not 
authorize  the  presiding  officer  to  interrupt  a  mem- 
ber whilst  speaking,  or  to  cut  off  one  to  whom  he 
has  given  the  floor ;  he  must  wait  like  the  others 
until  such  member  has  done  speaking." 

47.  The  chairman  as  chairman  can  only  take 
the  floor  to  speak  when  he  desires  to  make  some 
brief  comment  on  the  debate,  or  to  give  some  in- 
formation in  regard  to  it,  or  to  make  some  parlia- 
mentary ruling,  or  to  maintain  order.    If  he  desires 


206  BOrS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

to  discuss  the  question  before  the  assembly,  he 
should  give  his  gavel  and  seat  to  the  vice-chair- 
man, and  from  the  vice-chairman's  old  seat  make 
his  address  after  he  has  received  the  floor  like 
any  other  member. 

As  to   Times  of  Speaking 

48.  "  Every  question  that  can  be  made  in  a 
deliberative  assembly  is  susceptible  of  being  de- 
bated according  to  its  nature ;  that  is,  every  mem- 
ber has  the  right  of  expressing  his  opinion  upon 
it.  Hence  it  is  a  general  rule  .  .  .  that  in  debate, 
those  who  speak  are  to  confine  themselves  to  the 
question,  and  not  to  speak  impertinently  or  beside 
the  subject.  So  long  as  a  member  has  the  floor 
and  keeps  within  the  rule,  he  may  speak  for  as  long 
a  time  as  he  pleases ;  though  if  an  uninteresting 
speaker  trespasses  too  much  upon  the  time  and 
patience  of  the  assembly,  the  members  seldom  fail 
to  show  their  dissatisfaction  in  some  way  or  other 
which  induces  him  to  bring  his  remarks  to  a 
close." 

49.  "  If  a  member  speaking  finds  that  he  is  not 
regarded  with  that  respectful  attention  which  his 
equal  right  demands, — that  it  is  not  the  inclina- 
tion of  the  assembly  to  hear  him,  —  and  that  by 
conversation  or  other  noise  they  endeavor  to  drown 
his  voice,  —  it  is  his  most  prudent  course  to  submit 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  207 

himself  to  the  pleasure  of  the  assembly  and  to  sit 
down ;  for  it  scarcely  ever  happens  that  the  mem- 
bers of  -an  assembly  are  guilty  of  this  piece  of  ill 
manners  without  some  excuse  or  provocation,  or 
that  they  are  so  wholly  inattentive  to  one  who 
says  anything  worth  their  hearing." 

50.  "  The  general  rule  in  all  deliberative  as- 
semblies, unless  it  be  otherwise  specially  provided, 
is,  that  no  member  shall  speak  more  than  once  to 
the  same  question,  —  unless  a  member  who  desires 
to  speak  a  second  time  has,  in  the  course  of  de- 
bate, changed  his  opinion." 

51.  "  A  member  may  ...  be  permitted  to  speak 
a  second  time  in  the  same  debate  in  order  to  clear 
a  matter  of  fact ;  or  merely  to  explain  himself  in 
some  material  part  of  his  speech  .  .  ."  or  to  ask 
for  information  on  a  subject.  In  this  case,  he  says, 
"  I  rise  to  a  question  of  information,"  and  the 
chairman  should  then  give  him  the  floor  in  prefer- 
ence of  others  who  may  ask  it.  A  member  who 
is  speaking  on  a  question  of  information,  however, 
must  speak  briefly  and  must  confine  himself  to 
questions  or  to  giving  of  facts  and  must  not  ex- 
press his  own  theories  or  feehngs  in  the  matter. 

As  to  Matter  in  Speaking 

52.  "  It  is  a  rule  that  no  person  in  speaking  is 
to  use  indecent  language  against  the  proceedings 


208  BOVS'   SELF-GOVERNING    CLUBS 

of  the  assembly,  or  to  reflect  upon  any  of  its  prior 
determinations  unless  he  means  to  conclude  his 
remarks  with  a  motion  to  rescind  such  determina- 
tion ;  but  while  a  proposition  under  consideration 
is  still  pending  and  not  adopted,  .  .  .  reflections 
on  it  are  no  reflections  on  the  assembly  "  and  are 
therefore  permissible. 

53.  "Another  rule  in  speaking  is,  that  no  mem-' 
ber  is  at  liberty  to  digress  from  the  matter  of  the 
question,  to  fall  upon  the  person  of  another  and  to 
speak  reviling,  nipping  or  unmannerly  words  to 
him.  (See  §  57.)  The  nature  or  consequences  of 
a  measure  may  be  reprobated  in  strong  terms; 
but  to  arraign  the  motives  of  those  who  advocate 
it  is  a  personality  and  against  order." 

54.  "  No  person  in  speaking  is  to  mention  a 
member  then  present  by  his  name ;  but  is  to  de- 
scribe him  by  his  seat  in  the  assembly  or  as  the 
member  who  spoke  last,  or  last  but  one,  or  on  the 
other  side  of  the  question,  or  by  some  equivalent 
expression.  The  purpose  of  this  rule  is  to  guard 
as  much  as  possible  against  the  excitement  of  all 
personal  feeling,  either  of  favor  or  of  hostility,  by 
separating,  as  it  were,  the  official  from  the  per- 
sonal character  of  each  member,  having  regard  to 
the  former  only  in  debate." 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  209 

Breaches  of  Decorum  and  Penalties  for  Ill- 
behavior 

55.  "  Every  member  having  the  right  to  be 
heard,  every  other  member  is  bound  to  conduct 
himself  in  such  a  manner  that  this  right  may  be 
effectual.  Hence  it  is  a  rule  of  order  as  well  as 
decency  that  no  member  is  to  disturb  another 
in  his  speech  by  hissing,  coughing,  spitting ;  by 
speaking  or  whispering ;  by  passing  between  the 
presiding  officer  and  the  member  speaking ;  by 
going  across  the  assembly  room  or  walking  up  and 
down  in  it,  or  by  any  other  disorderly  deportment 
which  tends  to  disturb  or  disconcert  a  member 
who  is  speaking."  It  is  also  a  breach  of  decorum 
for  a  member  to  remain  seated  while  speaking  or 
to  wear  his  hat  in  the  assembly  room. 

56.  The  only  penalties  which  can  be  inflicted 
upon  a  member  for  breach  of  decorum  are,  dis- 
missal for  the  day,  dismissal  from  the  room  for  a 
brief  period,  deprivation  of  his  vote,  or  simply  a 
reprimand.  The  chairman  should  not  send  a  boy 
out  of  the  room  until  he  has  given  him  at  least  one 
warning  that  his  behavior  is  unwarranted.  Three 
warnings  should  be  given  before  a  member  is  dis- 
missed for  the  day.  The  chairman  has  the  power 
to  inflict  any  of  the  above-mentioned  penalties  upon 
a  member  with  the  exception  of  depriving  him  of  his 


210  BOVS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

vote.     This  can  only  be  done  by  a  vote  of  all  the 
members  present  (excepting  the  accused  member). 

57.  "  If  a  member  in  speaking  makes  use  of 
language  which  is  personally  offensive  to  another, 
or  insulting  to  the  assembly,  .  .  .  and  the  mem- 
ber offended  or  any  other  .  .  ."  complains  of  it 
to  the  assembly,  "the  course  of  procedure  is  as 
follows :  The  member  speaking  is  immediately  in- 
terrupted (see  §  59)  in  the  course  of  his  speech 
by  another  or  several  members  rising  and  calling 
him  to  order."  The  secretary  instantly  writes 
down  the  objectionable  words.  The  accused  is  at 
once  given  a  hearing,  when  he  may  be  able  by 
justification  of  his  words  or  explanation  of  them, 
or  by  apology,  to  satisfy  the  offended  member  or 
the  assembly.  If,  however,  no  such  justification 
or  apology  is  forthcoming,  a  privileged  motion 
would  be  in  order  to  dismiss  him  for  the  day  or 
to  inflict  any  other  of  the  penalties  prescribed  for 
breach  of  decorum. 

On  Interruptions 

58.  It  is  sometimes  supposed  that,  because  a 
member  has  a  right  to  explain  himself  (or  to  give 
information  or  to  ask  questions),  he  therefore  has 
the  right  to  interrupt  another  member  whilst  speak- 
ing in  order  to  make  the  explanation  or  ask  the 
question.      This   is   a   mistake.     He    should  wait 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  211 

until  the  member  speaking  has  finished  ;  and  if 
a  member,  on  being  requested,  yields  the  floor 
for  an'  explanation  or  question,  he  yields  it  alto- 
gether.    (See  §  45.) 

59.  A  member  who  has  been  given  the  floor  and 
who  is  speaking  can  be  interrupted  only  by  the 
president  if  he  rules  him  out  of  order,  or  by  a 
member  who  calls  the  attention  of  the  president 
to  the  fact  that  the  member  is  out  of  order,  or  by 
a  member  who  objects  to  the  language  used  (see 
§  57),  or  by  the  president  trying  to  maintain  order 
in  the  assembly.  Under  no  other  circumstances 
may  a  speaker  be  interrupted.  Even  privileged 
motions  can  only  be  put  after  the  mover  has 
regularly  obtained  the  floor  when  some  speaker 
has  finished. 

As  to  stopping  Debate 

60.  When  the  discussion  of  a  motion  becomes 
tiresome  or  unprofitable  a  member  may  (if  he  can 
get  the  floor  without  interrupting  any  speaker) 
move  that  the  chairman  put  the  question  at  once 
without  further  discussion.  This  is  a  privileged 
motion.     (See  §  38.) 

Of  Rights  and  Duties  of  Members 

61.  "  The  rights  and  duties  of  members  of  a 
deliberative  assembly  as  regards  one  another  are 


212  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

founded  in,  and  derived  from,  the  principle  of  their 
absolute  equality  among  themselves.  Every  mem- 
ber, however  humble  he  may  be,  has  the  same 
right  with  every  other,  to  submit  his  propositions 
to  the  assembly,  —  to  explain  and  recommend 
them  in  discussion,  —  and  to  have  them  patiently 
examined  and  deliberately  decided  upon  by  the 
assembly ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  duty 
of  every  one  so  to  conduct  himself,  both  in  debate 
and  in  his  general  deportment  in  the  assembly,  as 
not  to  obstruct  any  other  member  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  his  equal  rights." 

62.  "  No  member  ought  to  be  present  in  the 
assembly  when  any  matter  or  business  concerning 
himself  is  debating ;  nor  if  present,  by  the  indul- 
gence of  the  assembly,  ought  he  to  vote  on  any 
such  question.  Whether  the  matter  in  question 
concern  his  private  interest,  or  relate  to  his  con- 
duct as  a  member,  —  as  for  a  breach  of  order,  or 
for  matter  arising  in  debate,  —  as  soon  as  it  is  fairly 
before  the  assembly  the  member  is  to  be  heard  in 
exculpation  and  then  to  withdraw  until  the  matter 
is  settled.  If,  notwithstanding,  a  member  should 
remain  in  the  assembly  and  vote,  his  vote  may 
and  ought  to  be  disallowed ;  it  being  contrary  not 
only  to  the  laws  of  decency,  but  to  fundamental 
principle  of  social  compact,  that  a  man  should  sit 
and  act  as  a  judge  in  his  own  case." 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  213 

On  Appeals 

63.  For  the  sake  of  saving  time  the  chairman  is 
allowed  considerable  freedom  in  his  rulings  and  in 
dispensing  justice.  If  any  decision  of  the  chairman 
seems  unjust  to  a  member,  he  may  rise  and  say, 
"  I  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  chair."  In  a 
boys'  club  this  appeal  must  be  seconded,  for  the 
power  of  appeal  is  sometimes  used  by  mischievous 
boys,  or  boys  who  have  a  grudge  against  the  chair- 
man, for  the  sake  of  creating  a  disturbance. 

64.  When  an  appeal  has  been  made  the  chair- 
man resigns  his  place  to  the  vice-chairman,  and 
then  states  his  case.  The  appealing  member  then 
states  his  case.  Then  the  vice-chairman  calls  for 
the  vote  of  all  who  would  uphold  the  chair  in  its 
decision. 

65.  Whether  the  chairman  is  upheld  or  not,  he 
resumes  his  place  as  soon  as  the  vote  is  taken  in 
regard  to  the  disputed  ruling. 

On  making  Points  of  Order 

66.  If,  in  the  course  of  the  business  meeting,  it 
seems  to  some  member  that  the  discussion  or  other 
proceedings  are  not  being  transacted  according  to 
the  parliamentary  usage  generally  recognized  by 
the  club,  he  must  rise  from  his  seat  and  say,  "  I 
rise  to  a  question  of  order,"   and   even  if  these 


214  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

words  interrupt  a  speaker  the  member  who  makes 
the  point  of  order  must  be  given  an  immediate 
hearing.  If  the  chairman  agrees  with  the  correc- 
tion, he  says,  "  Your  point,  or  correction,  is  well 
taken,"  and  rules  accordingly.  If  he  does  not 
accept  the  correction,  he  says  so.  If  any  member 
objects  to  the  decision  of  the  presiding  officer,  he 
may  demand  that  authority  for  his  action  in  the 
matter  be  sought  in  the  parliamentary  manual 
whose  authority  the  club  recognizes.  Only,  if  this 
manual  does  not  cover  the  case  in  question,  should 
a  member  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  chair. 
(See  §  63.)  Otherwise  the  book  shall  be  con- 
sidered as  the  final  authority. 

How  to    Vote 

67.  If,  during  the  discussion  of  a  motion,  the 
chairman  concludes  that  there  will  be  an  over- 
whelming majority  either  in  favor  of  or  opposition 
to  it,  he  may  call  for  a  vive  voce  vote ;  that  is,  he 
may  say,  "  All  in  favor  of  this  motion  say  aye ; " 
and  then,  "  All  that  are  opposed  say  nay."  If 
there  is  any  strong  unity  of  feeling  in  regard  to 
the  motion  either  the  ayes  or  the  nays  will  be 
so  conspicuously  strong  that  there  will  be  no 
need  to  count  them  to  know  which  are  in  the 
majority. 

68.  If  a  fairly  evenly  divided  vote  is  expected, 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  215 

or  a  vote  in  which,  say,  two-thirds  are  necessary  to 
effect  the  passage  of  a  motion,  it  is  better  to  call 
for  a  standing  vote ;  that  is,  the  chairman  should 
say,  "All  in  favor  of  this  motion  please  rise."  He 
then  counts  the  number  standing,  the  secretary 
records  the  number,  and  the  voters  are  instructed 
to  sit  down.  Next,  those  in  opposition  are  re- 
quested to  stand,  when  they  are  counted  in  the 
same  manner,  and  the  votes  of  the  two  sides  are 
compared  aloud. 

69.  When  new  members  or  officers  are  to  be 
voted  upon  it  is  sometimes  desirable  to  have  a 
closed  or  secret  ballot,  so  that  the  candidate  may 
not  know  who  has  opposed  him.  A  closed  ballot 
may  be  effected  by  distributing  slips  of  paper  upon 
which  the  voters  may  write  yea  or  nay,  or,  when 
there  are  several  candidates  opposed  to  one  an- 
other for  an  office,  the  name  of  the  one  favored 
candidate.  These  slips  may  then  be  folded  up  and 
given  to  the  chairman,  who,  with  the  secretary, 
will  count  them  and  announce  the  result. 

70.  In  the  case  of  a  viva  voce,  standing  or 
secret  vote,  if  there  are  several  candidates  for  one 
office,  or  several  amendments  to  a  motion,  the  way 
to  manage  an  election  or  choice  will  be  as  fol- 
lows :  Let  us  say  that  there  are  three  candidates 
for  ofifice.  A,  B,  and  C.  The  amendments  to  the 
motion  may  be  designated  also  as  A  and  B,  while 


2l6  BOYS'   SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

the  motion  itself  may  be  C.  In  the  case  of  candi- 
dates or  amendments  the  chairman  first  calls  for 
votes  for  A.  Let  us  say  there  are  six.  Then  he 
calls  for  votes  for  B.  There  are  eight.  C  wins 
ten  votes.  As  A  has  received  the  smallest  num- 
ber of  votes  he,  or  it  (as  the  case  may  be),  is  elimi- 
nated from  the  affair.  The  six  boys  who  voted 
for  A  are  expected  to  make  a  second  choice  either 
of  B  or  C,  unless  they  prefer  not  to  vote  at  all. 
The  boys  who  voted  for  B  and  C  originally  will 
presumably  not  change  their  vote.  The  result  of 
the  second  canvass  is,  that  B  receives  ten  votes  and 
C  fourteen,  C  therefore  winning  the  office,  or  the 
motion. 

71.  The  presiding  officer  never  votes  unless 
there  is  a  tie  in  the  vote  of  the  members,  in  which 
case  he  casts  the  deciding  ballot. 

72.  Each  club  may  make  its  own  rules  in  regard 
to  whether  a  simple  majority  shall  be  sufficient  to 
rule.  In  order  to  effect  a  constitutional  amend- 
ment it  is  better  to  require  a  three-quarter  vote. 
When  new  members  are  to  be  elected,  three  or  four 
in  opposition  may  be  sufficient  to  exclude.  In 
most  cases  the  majority  should  rule,  but  as  has 
been  said  before,  this  is  a  matter  for  each  club  to 
decide  for  itself ;  but  each  club  should  have  some 
definite  rule  in  regard  to  the  matter,  and  not  de- 
cide haphazard  at  the  last  moment. 


SIMPLE  PARLIAMENTARY  LAW  217 

Committees 

73.  Every  club  will  need  a  certain  number  of 
committees.  These  may  be  standing  committees 
or  special  committees.  A  standing  committee  is 
expected  to  perform  work  for  which  there  is  a 
never  ending  need,  —  as,  for  instance,  the  finance 
committee,  which  is  expected  to  audit  the  accounts 
of  the  treasurer;  or  the  investigating  committee, 
which  must  find  out  the  characters  of  would-be 
members  and  investigate  charges  against  mem- 
bers. 

74.  Special  committees  are  appointed  to  per- 
form some  particular  task  and  are  dissolved  when 
this  task  is  finished. 

75.  The  members  of  standing  committees  go 
out  of  office  with  the  outgoing  administration,  but 
if  they  have  done  good  work  or  are  in  the  midst  of 
some  uncompleted  task,  they  should  be  reappointed 
by  the  new  chairman. 

76.  The  members  of  special  committees  are  not 
affected  by  a  change  of  administration.  They 
stay  in  office  until  their  task  is  performed. 

77-  In  a  club  the  president  usually  appoints  all 
committees,  standing  and  special,  but  the  mem- 
bers should  have  the  power,  if  they  object  to  an 
appointment,  to  call  for  a  vote  of  the  club. 

78.    The    chairman    dissolves    all    committees 


2l8  BOYS'  SELF-GOVERNING   CLUBS 

when  their  services  are  no  longer  needed.  He 
may  also  remove  any  member  of  a  committee  if 
he  fails  to  perform  his  duties.  The  members  have 
the  power  to  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  chair 
in  the  case  of  a  removal,  however. 

79.  In  the  case  of  falsifying  reports  or  accounts, 
or  of  gross  incapacity  (buying  unsound  supplies,  for 
example),  a  whole  committee  or  a  member  of  it  may 
be  tried  before  the  club  and  may  be  expelled  or 
suspended. 

Suspension  of  a  Rule 

80.  '"When  any  contemplated  motion  or  pro- 
ceeding is  rendered  impracticable  by  reason  of 
the  existence  of  some  special  rule  by  which  it  is 
prohibited,  it  has  become  an  established  practice 
in  this  country  to  suspend  or  dispense  with  the  rule 
for  the  purpose  of  admitting  the  proceeding  or 
motion  which  is  desired."  This  must  be  done  by 
passing  a  motion  (privileged).     (See  §  38.) 

81.  It  is  better,  however,  certainly  in  younger 
clubs,  not  to  allow  the  suspension  of  a  rule  without 
the  consent  of  the  adviser.     (See  page  46.) 


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1 


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GREENE.  PICKETT'S  GAP.  By  Homer  Greene.  12mo.  Illus- 
trated, vii  +  288  pages. 
A  story  of  American  life  and  character  illustrated  in  the  per- 
sonal heroism  and  manliness  of  an  American  boy.  It  is  well  told, 
and  the  lessons  in  morals  and  character  are  such  as  will  appeal  to 
every  honest  instinct. 

HAPGOOD.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  By  Norman  Hapgood. 
12mo.  Illustrated,  xiii  +  433  pages. 
This  is  one  of  the  best  one-volume  biographies  of  Lincoln,  and  a 
faithful  picture  of  the  strong  character  of  the  great  President,  not 
only  when  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  nation,  but  also  as  a  boy  and 
a  young  man,  making  his  way  in  the  world. 


HAPGOOD.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  By  Norman  Hapgood. 
12mo.     Illustrated,     xi  +  419  pages. 

Not  the  semi-mythical  Washington  of  some  biographers,  but  a 
clear,  comprehensive  account  of  the  man  as  he  really  appeared  in 
camp,  in  the  field,  in  the  councils  of  his  country,  at  home,  and  in 
society. 

HOLDEN.  REAL  THINGS  IN  NATURE.  A  Reading  Book  of 
Science  for  American  Boys  and  Girls.  By  Edward  S.  Holden. 
Illustrated.     12mo.     xxxviii  +  443  pages. 

The  topics  are  grouped  under  nine  general  heads:  Astronomy, 
Physics,  Meteorology,  Chemistry,  Geology,  Zoology,  Botany,  The 
Human  Body,  and  The  Early  History  of  Mankind.  The  various 
parts  of  the  volume  give  the  answers  to  the  thousand  and  one 
questions  continually  arising  in  the  minds  of  youths  at  an  age 
when  habits  of  thought  for  life  are  being  formed. 

HUFFORD.  SHAKESPEARE  IN  TALE  AND  VERSE.  By  Lois 
Grosvenor  Huflford.     12mo.     ix  +  445  pages. 

The  purpose  of  the  author  is  to  introduce  Shakespeare  to  such 
of  his  readers  as  find  the  intricacies  of  the  plots  of  the  dramas 
somewhat  difficult  to  manage.  The  stories  which  constitute  the 
main  plots  are  given,  and  are  interspersed  with  the  dramatic 
dialogue  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  tale  and  verse  interpret  each 
other. 

HUGHES.  TOM  BROWN'S  SCHOOL  DAYS.  By  Thomas  Hughes. 
12mo.     Illustrated,     xxi  +  376  pages. 

An  attractive  and  convenient  edition  of  this  great  story  of  life 
at  Rugby.  It  is  a  book  that  appeals  to  boys  everywhere  and 
which  makes  for  manliness  and  high  ideals. 

HUTCHINSON.  THE  STORY  OF  THE  HILLS.  A  Book  about 
Mountains  for  General  Readers.  By  Rev.  H.  W.  Hutchinson. 
12mo.     Illustrated,     xv  +  357  pages. 

"A  clear  account  of  the  geological  formation  of  mountains  and 
their  various  methods  of  origin  in  language  so  clear  and  untech- 
nical  that  it  will  not  confuse  even  the  most  unscientific."  — 
Boston  Evening  Transcript. 


ILLINOIS  GIRL.  A  PRAIRIE  WINTER,  By  an  Illinois  Girl. 
16mo.     164  pages. 

A  record  of  the  procession  of  the  months  from  midway  in  Septem- 
ber to  midway  in  May.  The  observations  on  Nature  are  accurate 
and  sympathetic,  and  they  are  interspersed  with  glimpses  of  a 
charming  home  life  and  bits  of  cheerful  philosophy. 

INGERSOLL.  WILD  NEIGHBORS.  OUTDOOR  STUDIES  IN 
THE  UNITED  STATES.  By  Ernest  IngersoU.  12mo. 
Illustrated,     xii  +  301  pages. 

Studies  and  stories  of  the  gray  squirrel,  the  puma,  the  coyote, 
the  badger,  and  other  burrowers,  the  porcupine,  the  skunk,  the 
woodchuck,  and  the  raccoon. 

INMAN.  THE  RANCH  ON  THE  OXHIDE.  By  Henry  Inman, 
12mo.     Illustrated,     xi  +  297  pages. 

A  story  of  pioneer  life  in  Kansas  in  the  late  sixties.  Adventures 
with  wild  animals  and  skirmishes  with  Indians  add  interest  to  the 
narrative. 

JOHNSON.  CERVANTES'  DON  QUIXOTE.  Edited  by  CHfton 
Johnson.    12mo.     Illustrated,     xxiii  +  398  pages. 

A  well-edited  edition  of  this  classic.  The  one  effort  has  been  to 
bring  the  book  to  readable  proportions  without  excluding  any  really 
essential  incident  or  detail,  and  at  the  same  time  to  make  the  text 
unobjectionable  and  wholesome. 

JUDSON.  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION.  By 
Harry  Pratt  Judson.  12mo.  Illustrations  and  maps. 
xi  +  359  pages. 

The  cardinal  facts  of  American  History  are  grasped  in  such  a 
way  as  to  show  clearly  the  orderly  development  of  national  life. 

KEARY.  THE  HEROES  OF  ASGARD:  TALES  FROM  SCANDI- 
NAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.  By  A.  and  E.  Keary.  12mo. 
Illustrated.     323  pages. 

The  book  is  divided  into  nine  chapters,  called  "The  ^sir," 
"How  Thor  went  to  Jotunheim,"  "  Frey,"  "The  Wanderings  of 
Freyja,"  "  Iduna's  Apples,"  "Baldur,"  "The  Binding  of  Fenrir," 
"The  Punishment  of  Loki,"  "Ragnarok." 


KING.     DE  SOTO  AND  HIS  MEN  IN  THE  LAND  OF  FLORIDA. 

By  Grace  King.     12mo.     Illustrated,     xiv  +  326  pages. 

A  story  based  upon  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  accounts  of  the 
attempted  conquest  by  the  armada  which  sailed  under  De  Soto  in 
1538  to  subdue  this  country.  Miss  King  gives  a  most  entertain- 
ing history  of  the  invaders'  struggles  and  of  their  final  demoralized 
rout;  while  her  account  of  the  native  tribes  is  a  most  attractive 
feature  of  the  narrative. 

KINGSLEY.  MADAM  HOW  AND  LADY  WHY:  FIRST  LESSONS 
IN  EARTH  LORE  FOR  CHILDREN.  By  Charles  Kingsley. 
12mo.     Illustrated,     xviii+321  pages. 

Madam  How  and  Lady  Why  are  two  fairies  who  teach  the  how 
and  why  of  things  in  nature.  There  are  chapters  on  Earthquakes, 
Volcanoes,  Coral  Reefs,  Glaciers,  etc.,  told  in  an  interesting  man- 
ner. The  book  is  intended  to  lead  children  to  use  their  eyes  and 
ears. 

KINGSLEY.  THE  WATER  BABIES:  A  FAIRY  TALE  FOR  A 
LAND  BABY.  By  Charles  Kingsley.  12mo.  Illustrated. 
330  pages. 

One  of  the  best  children's  stories  ever  written;  it  has  deservedly 
become  a  classic. 

LANGE.  OUR  NATIVE  BIRDS:  HOW  TO  PROTECT  THEM 
AND  ATTRACT  THEM  TO  OUR  HOMES.  By  D.  Lange. 
12mo.     Illustrated,     x  +  162  pages. 

A  strong  plea  for  the  protection  of  birds.  Methods  and  devices 
for  their  encouragement  are  given,  also  a  bibliography  of  helpful 
literature,  and  material  for  Bird  Day. 

LOVELL.      STORIES    IN    STONE   FROM   THE   ROMAN  FORUM. 

By  Isabel  Lovell.     12mo.     Illustrated,     viii  +  258  pages. 

The  eight  stories  in  this  volume  give  many  facts  that  travelers 
wish  to  know,  that  historical  readers  seek,  and  that  young  students 
enjoy.     The  book  puts  the  reader  in  close  touch  with  Roman  life. 

McFARLAND.      GETTING    ACQUAINTED    WITH    THE    TREES. 

By  J.  Horace  McFarland.     8vo.     Illustrated.    xi  + 241  pages. 

A  charmingly  written  series  of  tree  essays.  They  are  not 
scientific  but  popular,  and  are  the  outcome  of  the  author's  desire 
that  others  should  share  the  rest  and  comfort  that  have  come  to 
him  through  acquaintance  with  trees. 


MAJOR.     THE    BEARS    OF    BLUE    RIVER.     By  Charles  Major. 

12mo.     Illustrated.     277  pages. 

A  collection  of  good  bear  stories  with  a  live  boy  for  the  hero. 
The  scene  is  laid  in  the  early  days  of  Indiana. 

MARSHALL.  WINIFRED'S  JOURNAL.  By  Emma  Marshall. 
12mo.     Illustrated.     353  pages. 

A  story  of  the  time  of  Charles  the  First,  Some  of  the  characters 
are  historical  personages. 

MEANS.  PALMETTO  STORIES.  By  Celina  E.  Means.  12mo. 
Illustrated,     x  +  244  pages. 

True  accounts  of  some  of  the  men  and  women  who  made  the 
history  of  South  Carolina,  and  correct  pictures  of  the  conditions 
under  which  these  men  and  women  labored. 

MORRIS.  MAN  AND  HIS  ANCESTOR:  A  STUDY  IN  EVOLU- 
TION. By  Charles  Morris.  16mo.  Illustrated,  vii  +  238 
pages. 

A  popular  presentation  of  the  subject  of  man's  origin.  The 
various  significant  facts  that  have  been  discovered  since  Darwin's 
time  are  given,  as  well  as  certain  lines  of  evidence  never  before 
presented  in  this  connection. 

NEWBOLT.  STORIES  FROM  FROISSART.  By  Henry  Newbolt. 
12mo.     Illustrated,     xxxi  +  368  pages. 

Here  are  given  entire  thirteen  episodes  from  the  "Chronicles" 
of  Sir  John  Froissart.  The  text  is  modernized  sufficiently  to  make 
it  intelligible  to  young  readers.  Separated  narratives  are  dove- 
tailed, and  new  translations  have  been  made  where  necessary  to 
make  the  narrative  complete  and  easily  readable. 

OVERTON.  THE  CAPTAIN'S  DAUGHTER.  By  Gwendolen 
Overton.     12mo.     Illustrated,     vii  +  270  pages. 

A  story  of  girl  life  at  an  army  post  on  the  frontier.  The  plot  is 
an  absorbing  one,  and  the  interest  of  the  reader  is  held  to  the  end. 

PALGRAVE.  THE  CHILDREN'S  TREASURY  OF  ENGLISH 
SONG.  Selected  and  arranged  by  Francis  Turner  Palgrave. 
16mo.     viii  +  302  pages. 

This  collection  contains  168  selections  —  songs,  narratives, 
descriptive  or  reflective  pieces  of  a  lyrical  quality,  all  suited  to  tht- 
taste  and  understanding  of  children. 


PALMER.  STORIES  FROM  THE  CLASSICAL  LITERATURE 
OF  MANY  NATIONS.  Edited  by  Bertha  Palmer.  12mo. 
XV  +  297  pages. 

A  collection  of  sixty  characteristic  stories  from  Chinese,  Japa- 
nese, Hebrew.  Babylonian,  Arabian,  Hindu,  Greek,  Roman, 
German,  Scandinavian,  Celtic,  Russian,  Italian,  French,  Spanish, 
Portuguese,  Anglo-Saxon,  English,  Finnish,  and  American  Indian 

sources. 

RIIS.     CHILDREN  OF  THE  TENEMENTS.     By  Jacob  A.  Riis. 

12mo.     Illustrated,     ix  +  387  pages. 

Forty  sketches  and  short  stories  dealing  with  the  lights  and 
shadows  of  life  in  the  slums  of  New  York  City,  told  just  as  they 
came  to  the  writer,  fresh  from  the  life  of  the  people. 

SANDYS.  TRAPPER  JIM.  By  Edwyn  Sandys.  12mo.  Illus- 
trated,    ix  +  441  pages. 

A  book  which  will  delight  every  normal  boy.  Jim  is  a  city  lad 
who  learns  from  an  older  cousin  all  the  lore  of  outdoor  life  — 
trapping,  shooting,  fishing,  camping,  swimming,  and  canoeing. 
The  author  is  a  well-known  writer  on  outdoor  subjects. 

SEXTON.  STORIES  OF  CALIFORNIA.  By  Ella  M.  Sexton. 
12mo.     Illustrated.     x4-211  pages. 

Twenty-two  stories  illustrating  the  early  conditions  and  the 
romantic  history  of  California  and  the  subsequent  development 
of  the  state. 

SHARP.  THE  YOUNGEST  GIRL  IN  THE  SCHOOL.  By  Evelyn 
Sharp.     12mo.     Illustrated,     ix  +  326  pages. 

Bab,  the  "  youngest  girl,"  was  only  eleven  and  the  pet  of  five 
brothers.     Her  ups  and  downs  in  a  strange  boarding  school  make 

an  interesting  story. 

SPARKS.  THE  MEN  WHO  MADE  THE  NATION:  AN  OUTLINE 
OF  UNITED  STATES  HISTORY  FROM   1776    TO   1861.     By 

Edwin  E.  Sparks.     12mo.     Illustrated,     viii  +  415  pages. 

The  author  has  chosen  to  tell  our  history  by  selecting  the  one 
man  at  various  periods  of  our  affairs  who  was  master  of  the  situ- 
ation and  about  whom  events  naturally  grouped  themselves. 
The  characters  thus  selected  number  twelve,  as  "Samuel  Adams, 
the  man  of  the  town  meeting"  ;  "Robert  Morris,  the  financier  of 
the  Revolution";  "Hamilton,  the  advocate  of  stronger  govern- 
ment," etc.,  etc. 


THACHER,  THE  LISTENING  CHILD.  A  selection  from  the 
stories  of  English  verse,  made  for  the  youngest  readers  and 
hearers.     By  Lucy  W.  Thacher.     12mo.    xxx  +  408  pages. 

Under  this  title  are  gathered  two  hundred  and  fifty  selections. 
The  arrangement  is  most  intelligent,  as  shown  in  the  proportions 
assigned  to  different  authors  and  periods.  Much  prominence  is 
given  to  purely  imaginative  writers.  The  preliminary  essay,  "A 
Short  Talk  to  Children  about  Poetry,"  is  full  of  suggestion. 

WALLACE.  UNCLE  HENRY'S  LETTERS  TO  THE  FARM 
BOY.     By  Henry  Wallace.     16mo.     ix  +  180  pages. 

Eighteen  letters  on  habits,  education,  business,  recreation,  and 
kindred  subjects. 

WEED.      LIFE     HISTORIES     OF     AMERICAN     INSECTS.      By 

Clarence  Moores  Weed.     12mo.     Illustrated,    xii  +  272  pages. 

In  these  pages  are  described  by  an  enthusiastic  student  of 
entomology  such  changes  as  may  often  be  seen  in  an  insect's 
form,  and  which  mark  the  progress  of  its  life.  He  shows  how  very 
wide  a  field  of  interesting  facts  is  within  reach  of  any  one  who  has 
the  patience  to  collect  these  little  creatures. 

WELLS.  THE  JINGLE  BOOK.  By  Carolyn  Wells.  12mo. 
Illustrated,     viii  +  124  pages. 

A  collection  of  fifty  delightful  jingles  and  nonsense  verses.  The 
illustrations  by  Oliver  Herford  do  justice  to  the  text. 

WILSON.  DOMESTIC  SCIENCE  IN  GRAMMAR  GRADES.  A 
Reader.     By  Lucy  L.  W.  Wilson.     12mo.     ix  4-  193  pages. 

Descriptions  of  homes  and  household  customs  of  all  ages  and 
countries,  studies  of  materials  and  industries,  glimpses  of  the 
homes  of  literature,  and  articles  on  various  household  subjects. 

WILSON.  HISTORY  READER  FOR  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS. 
By  Lucy  L.  W.  Wilson.  16mo.  Illustrated,  xvii  +  403 
pages. 

Stories  grouped  about  the  greatest  men  and  the  most  striking 
events  in  our  country's  history.  The  readings  run  by  months, 
beginning  with  September. 

WILSON.  PICTURE  STUDY  IN  ELEMENTARY  SCH60LS.  By 
Lucy  L.  W.  Wilson.     12mo.     Illustrated. 


10 

Ninety  half-tone  reproductions  from  celebrated  paintings  both 
old  and  modern,  accompanied  by  appropriate  readings  from  the 
poets.     All  schools  of  art  are  represented. 

WRIGHT.     HEART   OF   NATURE.     By  Mabel  Osgood  Wright. 
12mo.     Illustrated. 

This  volume  comprises  "Stories  of  Plants  and  Animals," 
"Stories  of  Earth  and  Sky,"  and  "Stories  of  Birds  and  Beasts," 
usually  published  in  three  volumes  and  known  as  "The  Heart  of 
Nature  Series."  It  is  a  delightful  combination  of  story  and 
nature  study,  the  author's  name  being  a  suflBcient  warrant  for  its 
interest  and  fidelity  to  nature. 

WRIGHT.     FOUR-FOOTED  AMERICANS  AND  THEIR  KIN.     By 

Mabel  Osgood  Wright,  edited  by  Frank  Chapman.     12mo. 
Illustrated,    xv  -I-  432  pages. 

An  animal  book  in  story  form.  The  scene  shifts  from  farm  to 
woods,  and  back  to  an  old  room,  fitted  as  a  sort  of  winter  camp, 
where  vivid  stories  of  the  birds  and  beasts  which  cannot  be  seeH 
at  home  are  told  by  the  campfire,  —  the  sailor  who  has  hunted  the 
sea,  the  woodman,  the  mining  engineer,  and  wandering  scientist, 
each  taking  his  turn.  A  useful  family  tree  of  North  American 
Mammals  is  added. 

WRIGHT.     DOGTOWN.'     By     Mabel     Osgood     Wright.     12mo. 
Illustrated,    xiii  +  405  pages. 

"Dogtown"  was  a  neighborhood  so  named  because  so  many 
people  loved  and  kept  dogs.  For  it  is  a  story  of  people  as  well  as 
of  dogs,  and  several  of  the  people  as  well  as  the  dogs  are  old  friends 
having  been  met  in  Mrs.  Wright's  other  books. 

YONGE.       LITTLE   LUCY'S    WONDERFUL    GLOBE.      By   Char- 
lotte M.  Yonge.     12mo.     Illustrated,    xi  +  140  pages. 

An  interesting  and  ingenious  introduction  to  geography.  In 
her  dreams  Lucy  visits  the  children  of  various  lands  and  thus 
learns  much  of  the  habits  and  customs  of  these  countries. 

YONGE.     UNKNOWN  TO  HISTORY.     By  Charlotte  M.  Yonge. 
12mo.     Illustrated,    xi  +  589  pages. 

A  story  of  the  captivity  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  told  in  the 
author's  best  vein. 


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